United States v. Francis Woodard, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 19214

Woodard pled guilty to possession of child pornography under 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B) and received a 168-month sentence.
PSR noted a prior juvenile adjudication for sexual abuse of a minor, raising sentencing enhancements under § 2252(b)(2) and § 2G2.2(b)(5).
District court, relying on Smalley, held the juvenile adjudication could be treated as a prior conviction and used for the pattern-of-conduct enhancement.
Woodard objected to treating the juvenile adjudication as a prior conviction and to the § 2G2.2(b)(5) enhancement, and questioned safeguards.
The government argues juvenile adjudications may serve as prior convictions for § 2252(b) and may support § 2G2.2(b)(5) enhancements even without a conviction.
The panel affirms the district court’s application of the enhancements and finds sufficient safeguards and evidentiary support.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Can a juvenile adjudication be a prior conviction for § 2252(b)?	Woodard argues no; § 2252(b) lacks a conviction definition for juveniles.	Government contends a juvenile adjudication may count as a prior conviction for § 2252(b).	Yes; juvenile adjudications may be treated as prior convictions under § 2252(b).
May § 2G2.2(b)(5) pattern enhancement be applied based on a juvenile adjudication?	Woodard asserts the adjudication cannot trigger the enhancement.	Government maintains the enhancement can apply based on conduct, regardless of conviction status.	Yes; the enhancement can be based on pattern of abuse irrespective of conviction.
Is there sufficient evidence and safeguards to support using the juvenile adjudication for sentencing?	Woodard alleges lack of proper safeguards and insufficient evidence.	Government contends PSR facts show the adjudication and constitutional safeguards.	Sufficient evidence and safeguards supported the adjudication’s use.

United States v. Smalley, 294 F.3d 1030 (8th Cir. 2002) (juvenile adjudications may count as prior convictions for Apprendi purposes in ACCA context)
United States v. Nash, 627 F.3d 693 (8th Cir. 2010) (juvenile adjudications can count as prior convictions for ACCA sentencing)
United States v. Dieken, 432 F.3d 906 (8th Cir. 2006) (juvenile adjudications can count for sentencing in drug offenses)
United States v. Bacon, 646 F.3d 218 (5th Cir. 2011) (no temporal limit in § 2G2.2(b)(5) enhancement for distant abuse)
United States v. Turner, 626 F.3d 566 (11th Cir. 2010) (no temporal restriction for § 2G2.2(b)(5) enhancement)
United States v. Olfano, 503 F.3d 240 (3d Cir. 2007) (enhancement applied based on earlier abuse years)
United States v. Garner, 490 F.3d 739 (9th Cir. 2007) (§ 2G2.2(b)(5) applied for historical abuse)
United States v. Gawthrop, 310 F.3d 405 (6th Cir. 2002) (enhancement based on older abuse instances)
United States v. Woodward, 277 F.3d 87 (1st Cir. 2002) (enhancement based on past abuse years earlier)
United States v. Lovaas, 241 F.3d 900 (7th Cir. 2001) (earlier abuse used for § 2G2.2(b)(5))
United States v. Loomis, 230 F. App’x 938 (11th Cir. 2007) (unpublished opinion upholding juvenile adjudication as prior conviction)