United States v. Bivens

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Bivens, then 33, began a sexual relationship with A.H., then 13 and living with her father near Bivens’ Kentucky home. A.H. moved to Ohio to live with her mother. A.H. took sexually explicit photos of herself at Bivens’ request and sent them to Bivens; around her fourteenth birthday. Bivens drove to Ohio and took A.H. to a hotel, where they engaged in sexual intercourse. Bivens created explicit photos, which he took home on his iPhone. Two months later, A.H. ran away from home; Bivens picked her up in Ohio and drove her to Kentucky, where the two again engaged in sex. A.H. hid in a crawl space behind a dresser and was not found until the sixth search of Bivens’ home. Bivens pled guilty to persuading A.H. to create child pornography, 18 U.S.C. 2251(a); traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct, section 2423(b); creating child pornography, section 2251(a); transporting child pornography across state lines, section 2252(a)(1); and transporting A.H. between states to engage in illegal sexual activity, section 2423(a). The Sixth Circuit affirmed his sentence of 360 months in prison, based on an advisory guidelines range of 360 months to life, upholding the court’s decision, over Bivens’ objection, not to combine the counts in determining the guidelines range. View "United States v. Bivens" on Justia Law