United States v. Raul Zamorano-Ponce, 699 F.3d 1117

Defendant Zamorano-Ponce pleaded guilty to illegal reentry after removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1326.
He had a 2003 Washington conviction for rape of a child in the third degree, RCW 9A.44.079, sentence 12 months.
Washington statute requires sexual intercourse with a minor aged 14–15 and a four-year age difference.
Defendant was removed after serving part of the state sentence.
In 2011, federal agents apprehended him near the border; he pled guilty to reentry after removal.
District court applied a 16-level enhancement under § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii) based on the state conviction; Defendant appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether RCW 9A.44.079 qualifies as statutory rape, a crime of violence.	Zamorano-Ponce argues statute is broader than federal statutory rape.	Gomez-Mendez framework categorizes it as statutory rape; no extra mens rea needed.	Yes; RCW 9A.44.079 qualifies as statutory rape and a crime of violence.

United States v. Gomez-Mendez, 486 F.3d 599 (9th Cir. 2007) (statutory rape can be a crime of violence under 2L1.2)
United States v. Rodriguez-Guzman, 506 F.3d 738 (9th Cir. 2007) (defines statutory rape; discusses full scope of conduct and four-year age difference)
United States v. Gonzalez-Aparicio, 663 F.3d 419 (9th Cir. 2011) (confirms four-year age difference element in statute aligns with federal definition)
Estrada-Espinoza v. Mukasey, 546 F.3d 1147 (9th Cir. 2008) (discusses mens rea in ‘sexual abuse of a minor’; not controlling for statutory rape)
United States v. Medina-Villa, 567 F.3d 507 (9th Cir. 2009) (addressedRelated sentencing categorization; distinguishes acts on minors)
Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575 (1990) (establishes categorical approach for evaluating crimes against the general definition)
United States v. Espinoza-Morales, 621 F.3d 1141 (9th Cir. 2010) (de novo review of crime-of-violence issue under 2L1.2)