United States v. Lydia Vasquez, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 18075

Lydia Vasquez communicated with a man (posing as “Keith”) and tried to entice him to visit by offering sex with her 12‑year‑old daughter and a purported unborn infant.
An undercover FBI agent assumed Keith’s identity; Vasquez was arrested en route to meet him and pleaded guilty under 18 U.S.C. § 2422(a) for inducing/enticing interstate travel to engage in sexual activity with a minor.
The district court adopted the PSR, applied U.S.S.G. § 2G1.3(b)(5) (an 8‑level enhancement for offenses involving a minor under 12), and sentenced Vasquez to 140 months’ imprisonment.
Vasquez argued the enhancement was improper because the infant she discussed was fictitious and she knew it was imaginary; the Guidelines’ definition of “minor” includes only a plain‑meaning real person when law‑enforcement‑created fictions are not involved.
The district court stated the existence of the child was not dispositive and applied the enhancement without making factual findings about whether the infant actually existed.
The Fifth Circuit concluded the enhancement does not apply where a defendant invents a fictitious minor under 12, vacated the sentence, and remanded for factual findings and resentencing. The court also directed reconciliation of conflicts between the oral pronouncement and written judgment.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether U.S.S.G. § 2G1.3(b)(5) applies when the defendant invents a fictitious minor under 12 to entice another	Vasquez: enhancement does not apply because the alleged infant was fictitious and the Guidelines’ plain meaning requires a real minor	Government: enhancement should apply to punish defendant’s intent; courts have applied similar enhancements when undercover officers proffered fictitious minors	Held: Enhancement does not apply to defendant‑invented fictitious minors; for §2G1.3(b)(5) the minor must be a real person
Whether district court committed legal error by applying the enhancement without finding the minor’s existence	Vasquez: court failed to make necessary factual finding that the infant was real	Government: adoption of PSR implies district court found infant was real	Held: Court erred—its statements that existence "is not the issue" negate an implicit finding; vacated sentence and remanded for factual findings and resentencing

United States v. Reyna‑Esparza, 777 F.3d 291 (5th Cir.) (standards for reviewing Guidelines interpretation and factual findings)
Ball v. LeBlanc, 792 F.3d 584 (5th Cir.) (remand appropriate when legal error affects factual findings)
United States v. Fulford, 662 F.3d 1174 (11th Cir.) (holding enhancement applies only where the minor is an actual human being absent law‑enforcement‑created fictions)
United States v. Angwin, 560 F.3d 549 (6th Cir.) (applying enhancements in cases involving undercover officers posing as minors)
United States v. Vance, 494 F.3d 985 (11th Cir.) (similar treatment where law enforcement proffered fictitious minors)
Mohamad v. Palestinian Auth., 132 S. Ct. 1702 (Supreme Court) ("individual" ordinarily means a natural person)
United States v. Vargas‑Duran, 356 F.3d 598 (5th Cir.) (guidance on plain‑meaning interpretation of Guidelines)