United States v. Pedro Del Granado
686 F. App'x 232
| 4th Cir. | 2017Background
- Defendant Pedro Del Granado was convicted of attempted enticement of a minor in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b) after online communications with a user identifying herself as “Christy.”
- “Christy” told Del Granado on three occasions that she was 13, and messages contained other indicators of youth.
- Del Granado arranged to pick up “Christy” at her home after her mother left for work and asked when she needed to be home.
- Upon arrest, Del Granado volunteered that “Christy” was 20, despite never being told that by “Christy.”
- Trial court denied Rule 29 motions challenging sufficiency and granted the Government’s motion in limine excluding other electronic communications Del Granado sought to introduce; conviction affirmed on appeal.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of evidence that Del Granado knew ‘Christy’ was a minor | Prosecution: messages and conduct show Del Granado knew she was under 18 | Del Granado: Government failed to prove he knew she was not an adult | Affirmed — viewing evidence in prosecution’s favor, jury could find he knew she was 13 |
| Admission of other Yahoo! communications under Rule 807 (residual hearsay) | Del Granado: other adult communications were trustworthy and admissible to rebut intent/context | Government: communications are hearsay and lack sufficient indicia of trustworthiness; district court excluded them | Affirmed — exclusion not plain error; Rule 807 is narrow and communications lacked equivalent guarantees of trustworthiness |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Clarke, 842 F.3d 288 (4th Cir. 2016) (discussing elements and standards for conviction challenges)
- United States v. Howard, 773 F.3d 519 (4th Cir. 2014) (defining substantial evidence review)
- United States v. Lowe, 65 F.3d 1137 (4th Cir. 1995) (plain error review when issue not raised below)
- United States v. Dunford, 148 F.3d 385 (4th Cir. 1998) (Rule 807 is a narrow hearsay exception)
- United States v. Aplicano-Oyuela, 792 F.3d 416 (4th Cir. 2015) (discussing plain error standard)