United States v. Philip Paauwe, 968 F.3d 614

Defendant Philip Paauwe, a former teacher, engaged in a multiyear online sexual relationship with a single underage minor (G.L.), obtained nude images, and possessed additional child pornography.
Paauwe pleaded guilty to coercion and enticement of a minor (18 U.S.C. § 2422(b)); other counts were dismissed in the plea agreement.
The Presentence Report applied a five-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.5(b)(1) for a “pattern of activity involving prohibited sexual conduct,” producing an offense level of 42 and a 420-month sentence.
Paauwe objected, arguing the enhancement improperly relied on Application Note 4(B)(i) (administrative commentary) to treat repeated abuse of a single victim as a qualifying “pattern,” which he contended Havis forbids.
The district court overruled the objection, finding the guideline text itself covers repeated acts against the same minor and noting Congress had adopted the application note; Paauwe appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether § 4B1.5(b)(1)’s five‑level enhancement applies when the defendant’s prohibited sexual conduct involved only one minor	Paauwe: The enhancement rests on Application Note 4(B)(i), not the Guideline text; under Havis, commentary cannot expand a Guideline’s scope, so the enhancement is inapplicable	Government/District Court: The plain text of § 4B1.5(b)(1) covers a “pattern of activity” (repeated related acts) regardless of number of victims; the application note is consistent and was Congress‑adopted	Affirmed: § 4B1.5(b)(1) applies where a defendant repeatedly abuses the same minor; the enhancement was properly applied

United States v. Havis, 927 F.3d 382 (6th Cir. 2019) (en banc) (administrative commentary may not expand a Guideline beyond its plain text)
United States v. Brattain, 539 F.3d 445 (6th Cir. 2008) (text of § 4B1.5(b)(1) covers repeated abuse of a single victim)
Stinson v. United States, 508 U.S. 36 (1993) (Sentencing Guidelines commentary is authoritative unless inconsistent with the Guidelines)
United States v. Wandahsega, 924 F.3d 868 (6th Cir. 2019) (repeated abuse of the same minor can constitute a "pattern of activity")
Life Technologies Corp. v. Promega Corp., 137 S. Ct. 734 (2017) (plural words in statutes generally include the singular)