U.S. v. Veazey

• Decision Date: 03 July 2007
• Docket Number: No. 05-4780.,05-4780.
• Citation: 491 F.3d 700
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. William H. VEAZEY, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

491 F.3d 700

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. William H. VEAZEY, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 05-4780.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued September 18, 2006.

Decided July 3, 2007.

Timothy A. Bass (argued), Office of the United States Attorney, Urbana, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Shaundra L. Kellam (argued), Office of the Federal Public Defender, Springfield, IL, Richard H. Parsons, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Peoria, IL, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before BAUER, ROVNER and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.

ROVNER, Circuit Judge.

William H. Veazey pled guilty to attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual conduct, 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b), and interstate travel for the purpose of engaging in a sexual act with a minor, 18 U.S.C. § 2423(b). At sentencing, the court determined that Veazey committed these offenses for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct with a minor. The court then applied a "visual depiction" guidelines cross-reference that greatly increased Veazey's guidelines sentencing range. The court sentenced Veazey to 324 months of imprisonment, followed by supervised release for a term of life. In this appeal, Veazey objects to the application of the "visual depiction" cross-reference. We affirm.

I.

When the early twentieth century thief, Willie Sutton, was asked why he robbed banks, he replied, "Because that's where the money is." In the early twenty-first century, if one were to ask sexual predators why they troll the internet, they might answer, "Because that's where the children are." Such was the case with William Veazey. Law enforcement officers are well aware that predators have fled the public playground in favor of the anonymous internet in seeking out their victims. For that reason, some officers enter internet chat rooms posing as children, serving as bait to the unsuspecting predators. On November 18, 2004, a Decatur, Illinois, male police detective signed onto Yahoo Instant Messenger using the screen name "jodijohnson15," and entered a chat room titled "*!SeXy HiGh SchOol HoTTiEs!*." Veazey was signed into the chat room as "nogames89," and on seeing "Jodi" enter, he began to send her instant messages. The fictitious Jodi identified herself as a 15 year-old girl from Decatur, Illinois, and Veazey (who was 61 at the time) identified himself as a 48 year-old man from Texas.

Jodi and Veazey engaged in numerous online conversations over the next month and a half, and Jodi eventually introduced Veazey to a fictitious 15 year-old friend named "Missy," who used the screen name "missyinil13."¹ With a female detective posing as Jodi, Veazey also spoke on the phone numerous times with Jodi, in calls the officers recorded. The content of the online and telephone conversations is graphic, demonstrating the techniques of a man who appears well-practiced in the art of manipulating vulnerable adolescents and well-versed in the shorthand phrases that teens use to communicate on the internet.²

Within minutes of meeting Jodi online for the first time, Veazey asked Jodi if she would "care to swap pics." Gov. Ex. 1, at 20. Jodi declined to send a picture of herself, claiming her mother had taken her camera away. In that first conversation Veazey asked Jodi about her sexual history, her willingness to meet him, and her willingness to engage in phone sex with him. Gov. Ex. 1, at 20-22. In the second internet exchange, Jodi revealed that she had told a female friend about Veazey. Veazey again expressed an interest in talking to Jodi on the phone, having sex with her, and obtaining pictures of her. This time, he stated "a nude pic would be nice." Gov. Ex. 1, at 23. When Jodi asked how she could get a nude picture of herself, Veazey suggested that her friend take the photo. Veazey asked if Jodi's friend was bisexual, and then proposed that Jodi and her friend take pictures of each other. Gov. Ex. 1, at 23. After discussing whether Veazey would pay for the pictures (he declined to do so), he persisted, telling Jodi he was falling in love with her and asking twice more, "r u gonna take the pics for me." Gov. Ex. 1, at 23-26. After the second of those requests, Jodi balked and wrote, "u want me or jus pics . . . . i really hope u wasnt jus sayin all tha fer pics." Gov. Ex. 1, at 26. Veazey then began to pull back from his request for pictures, telling Jodi that he really wanted her and that it was not a problem if she did not "wanna do pics." Id. After ascertaining where Jodi lived, the locations of the nearest airport and hotel, and after complaining to Jodi that he had previously flown to North Carolina to meet a girl who did not show up, Veazey told Jodi he would come to visit her. But first he needed two things from her: a cell phone number where he could reach her and a picture of her ("clothes optional") so that he would be able to recognize her at the airport. Gov. Ex. 1, at 26-32. Later in the same internet exchange, Veazey declared his love for Jodi, told her he wanted to marry her and again asked for a picture. Id.

In Jodi's third internet chat with Veazey, he asked for a picture soon so that he could look at her every night. This request came shortly after a graphic exchange where Veazey again indicated his wish to have sex with Jodi when he came to Decatur. Gov. Ex. 1, at 36-38. In the fourth chat, Veazey again requested a picture of Jodi, and instructed her on scanning the photo into her computer and then sending it to him via e-mail. He asked if Jodi had discussed taking pictures with her girlfriend and told her he was proud of her when she responded affirmatively. Gov. Ex. 1, at 42-44. In subsequent exchanges, Veazey again was the first to raise the subject of pictures, giving Jodi his home address, instructing her to mail "lots of pics," and asking her if she had sent pictures yet. See e.g., Gov. Ex 1, at 51, 54, 55, 60. In early December, a female detective posing as Jodi spoke with Veazey on the phone for the first time. He asked again for a picture and when she asked if he meant a "regular picture," he replied, "Well, yeah. That wouldn't be very gentlemanly if I asked for anything more now would it." Def. Ex. 1, at 6. Later in the same call, though, Veazey admitted that he really wanted a nude picture of her, but that he would have to "save that for in person." Def. Ex. 1, at 25-26. Jodi subsequently sent a picture to Veazey, telling him it was "not the knd u want tho." Gov. Ex. 1, at 60. The detectives used a non-revealing photo donated by a female law enforcement officer depicting that officer when she was a teenager. Veazey told Jodi this picture was acceptable so long as he could see her face. By the middle of December, Veazey had not received the picture Jodi told him she sent, and he asked her to send another. He also told her that without a picture, a phone number and an address, he would not come to visit her because of his experience with the other girl who had not shown up for his visit.

Veazey instructed Jodi in a telephone call on ways to seduce her friend Missy, and followed up on this lesson in an online chat, reminding her to start by taking pictures and then see what happened. He also suggested giving Missy alcohol to "loosen her up." Gov. Ex. 1, at 91. When Jodi later revealed she had not gotten very far in her seduction of Missy, Veazey expressed disappointment, but asked "did yall take pics." Gov. Ex. 1, at 101. Jodi replied that she had taken pictures but that the girls did not like them. Veazey made clear to Jodi that he wanted to have sex with both her and Missy but that this plan would not work unless Jodi had already seduced Missy. As soon as Jodi reported that she had completed this task, Veazey called her on the phone to discuss his trip to Decatur. He told Jodi that he wanted both girls to strip for him, and that he would bring a camera to take pictures on the first night they were together. Def. Ex. 6, at 13-14, 17-18.

Jodi then introduced Missy into the online chats. One of Veazey's first questions to Missy was whether the girls had taken some pictures for him. Missy asked if Veazey wanted pictures when they met in person and he replied that he wondered what Missy looked like. Gov. Ex. 1, at 111. Later in the chat, Veazey again asked Missy to send a picture, telling her he already had a picture of Jodi. Gov. Ex. 1, at 112. In a subsequent chat, Veazey again asked Missy for a picture, telling her he would accept a regular picture. Gov. Ex. 1, at 125-26. Of course, this reference to a "regular" picture is surrounded by Veazey's questions about Missy's fantasies and sexual preferences. When Missy asked Veazey what kind of pictures they would take when he visited, he responded, "whatever kind u want." Gov. Ex. 1, at 127-28. Missy asked whether he meant he would take pictures of them having sex. He told her that if she liked what she saw, she could take a picture, and he would do the same. He told Missy in graphic language that if she wanted a picture of them having sex, she could take one or have Jodi take one. Id. Later in the same chat, Missy asked about pictures again, and Veazey said that if Missy did not want any pictures taken, then he would not take any. After Missy assured him she had no problem with pictures, he told her she could tear up any pictures she did not like. He told her he had a digital camera, a camera that developed pictures immediately, and a camcorder. Gov. Ex. 1, at 131-32. When Missy asked if he was bringing them all, he replied, "if u want me too." Id. Missy told Veazey that she wanted him to bring the cameras and that she might like to make a movie. Veazey replied, "i like the way u think." Gov. Ex. 1, at 132.

In a later online chat with Jodi, Veazey told Jodi that Missy wanted to be filmed. Gov. Ex. 1, at 144. Jodi indicated that was agreeable to her, and the next time Veazey chatted with Missy, he reported that "jodi liked the idea of a movie too." Gov....