United States v. López-Correa, CRIMINAL NO. 09-233 (GAG)

• Court: United States District Courts. 1st Circuit. District of Puerto Rico
• Writing for the Court: GUSTAVO A. GELPI, United States District Judge
• Citation: 164 F.Supp.3d 266
• Docket Number: CRIMINAL NO. 09-233 (GAG)
• Decision Date: 10 February 2016
• Parties: United States of America, Plaintiff, v. Jenisse López-Correa [2], Defendant.

164 F.Supp.3d 266

United States of America, Plaintiff,
v.
Jenisse López-Correa [2], Defendant.

CRIMINAL NO. 09-233 (GAG)

United States District Court, D. Puerto Rico.

Signed February 10, 2016

164 F.Supp.3d 267

Jenifer Yois Hernandez-Vega, United States Attorneys Office, District of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, for Plaintiff.

OPINION AND ORDER

GUSTAVO A. GELPI, United States District Judge

Presently before the Court is supervisee Jenisse López–Correa's motion to reduce her sentence of thirty years of supervised release. (Docket No. 183.) After considering the motion, the Government's response, and all memoranda, testimony, and exhibits submitted by the parties, the Court will GRANT the motion to reduce or terminate the period of supervised release. (Docket Nos. 183, 185, 205, 215, 219.)

On January 22, 2010, Ms. López–Correa pleaded guilty to violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2251 for aiding and abetting in the production of child pornography involving a fourteen-year-old female. (Docket No. 128 at 1, 5–6.) The Court sentenced her to time served, followed by 30 years of supervised release.¹ (Docket Nos. 131, 132.) Her co-defendant, Joseph Acevedo–Maldonado, was convicted after a jury trial and sentenced by this Court to 300 months imprisonment to be followed by 20 years of supervised release. (Docket No. 147.) Since her sentencing, Ms. López–Correa has been receiving sex offender treatment from a psychologist and has fully complied with all of the terms and conditions of her supervised release. (Docket No. 215 at 3.) As of October 13, 2015, she successfully completed the minimum term of 5 years of supervised release required by statute. (Docket No. 210 at 27–28.)

The Court takes this opportunity to review Ms. López–Correa's sentence in light of new, post-sentence information from her treatment providers regarding a remarkable history of abuse and the profoundly coercive effect of her relationship with the violent and controlling codefendant. Considering that Ms. López–Correa's role in the charged offenses resulted from extreme fear and duress, the Court is disinclined to prolong the emotional shame and legal albatross of the conditions of her supervision.

Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e), the Court may modify, revoke or terminate the term or conditions of supervised release “if it is satisfied that such action is warranted by the conduct of the defendant released and the interest of justice.” 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e)(1). The Court considers the factors articulated in § 3553, including the nature and circumstances of the offense,

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the history and characteristics of the defendant, and the future risk of harm the defendant poses to the public. Id. § 3553(a)(1), (a)(2)(c).

In this case, the Court agrees with Ms. López–Correa that early termination of the supervised release period is appropriate. In addition to the history of physical and sexual abuse throughout her relationship with Joseph Acevedo–Maldonado, the experts who evaluated her agree that Ms. López–Correa's behavior during the relevant period is most consistent with that of a victim of abuse than a sexual predator. (Docket No. 210 at 21–23.) Acevedo–Maldonado exercised near total control over her from the beginning of their relationship throughout the period during which the offenses occurred, beating her, raping her and threatening her with physical and emotional violence.² She received medical treatment after he forcefully sodomized her, and was hospitalized for a period after attempting to commit suicide. (Docket No. 124 ¶¶ 36, 39.) Commonwealth's Women's Advocate Wanda Vázquez–Garced concluded that López–Correa's behavior was influenced by this process of victimization:³

Jenisse López–Correa and her behavior were highly influenced by a cruel, constant, and intentional pattern of abuse by way of domestic violence and sexual aggression which placed her in a position of defenselessness and inability to control her will. This situation prevented [her] from being able to make decisions in relation t[o] the abuse or for terminating the relationship. She demonstrated low self-esteem, a feeling of impotence, fear of making decisions, terror [of] abandoning the relation[ship] because of the imminence of a violent reaction from Acevedo–Maldonado.”

(Docket No. 204–2 at 10.) Ms. López–Correa was effectively a prisoner of Acevedo–Maldonado, which informs the Court's opinion of her history and characteristics.

The Court also considers Ms. López–Correa's role in the offense, and notes that she was forced by Acevedo–Maldonado to participate. She never indicated independent motivation to engage in these acts. (Docket No. 210 at 23–24.) Rather, all of the information contained in the Pre–Sentence Report, expert reports, and expert testimony indicate that she was severely and negatively impacted by her involvement, which was the product of coercion and duress rather than her own free will or personal desire. Nonetheless, she accepted responsibility for her role, pleaded guilty, and cooperated fully with authorities.

164 F.Supp.3d 269

The likelihood of recidivism is extremely low in this case, and the Court finds that Ms. López–Correa poses no future risk of harm to the public. She has no prior criminal record and has received psychiatric and psychological treatment in furtherance of rehabilitation since her arrest. (Docket No. 215 at 3.) Her commitment to rehabilitation is clearly evident from her compliance with every condition set by her probation officer and her treatment providers. (Docket No. 210 at 31–32.) More so, Ms. López–Correa has been proactive in her recovery, contacting Dr. Berrios–Méndez and her probation officer herself in order to seek help or advice during her rehabilitation.⁴ Id. at 27–28. Additionally, she expressed remorse for involvement on the day of her arrest and pleaded guilty to the charges against her. She also told authorities that she was glad the juvenile pornography scheme was discovered because she was finally able to access tools for her rehabilitation. (Docket No. 210 at 24.) Because her treatment providers concluded that Ms. López–Correa is more properly characterized as a victim than a sexual offender, there is no reason to...