Prewett v. Weems

From 2007 until 2011, J.W., then a minor, spent time with Weems and had sex with prostitutes hired by Weems. Weems filmed the encounters. In 2011, J.W. went to the police, who searched Weems’ home. They found a cell phone containing seven videos of J.W. having sex with the prostitutes and audio tapes of Weems, J.W. and prostitutes. Weems pleaded guilty to production of child pornography, 18 U.S.C. 2251(a). The district court sentenced him to 180 months. J.W. filed suit under18 U.S.C. 2255, seeking $1 million in damages. He offered the affidavits of two psychologists identifying the impact of the abuse and describing likely future treatment, but never attempted to prove actual damages. He relied on statutory presumptive damages ($150,000) and requested that the court multiply that number by the number of times Weems violated the criminal statute. The court agreed and concluded that Weems violated the criminal production statute seven times, multiplied the $150,000 presumed-damages floor by seven, and reduced the total ($1,050,000) to reflect the $1 million award requested in J.W.’s complaint. The Sixth Circuit reversed. The text, structure and context of the statute, together with the structure of related civil-remedy laws, establish that the $150,000 figure creates a damages floor for a victim’s cause of action, not for each violation.View "Prewett v. Weems" on Justia Law