United States v. Robin George, 670 F. App'x 176

Defendant Robin Lynn George pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor by a parent for producing child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(b), (e).
The district court imposed a below-Guidelines sentence of 252 months imprisonment.
George appealed, arguing the sentence was substantively unreasonable and longer than necessary under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).
The district court considered mitigating facts George raised: unusual behavior while dating the coercive partner, susceptibility to coercion, and vulnerability after her husband’s death.
The district court evaluated the offense’s nature and the § 3553(a)(2) purposes (retribution, deterrence, protection, and rehabilitation) before imposing the variance.
The Fourth Circuit reviewed for abuse of discretion under Gall and presumes reasonable a downward-variance sentence; it affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the 252-month sentence is substantively unreasonable	George: sentence exceeds what § 3553(a) requires given mitigating circumstances	Government: district court adequately weighed § 3553(a) factors and justified variance	Affirmed — sentence not substantively unreasonable
Whether district court considered mitigating evidence adequately	George: court failed to give sufficient weight to her coercion and vulnerability	Government: court expressly considered those mitigating factors	Held — court did consider mitigating factors
Whether the court overvalued the offense conduct	George: court placed excessive weight on offense nature	Government: court assessed offense without overvaluing it	Held — court did not overvalue the offense
Whether the § 3553(a)(2) purposes were addressed	George: sentence longer than necessary to satisfy sentencing purposes	Government: court addressed each § 3553(a)(2) factor	Held — court sufficiently accounted for sentencing purposes

Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38 (2007) (establishes deferential abuse-of-discretion review and requirements for procedural and substantive reasonableness)
United States v. Susi, 674 F.3d 278 (4th Cir. 2012) (presumption of reasonableness for downward-variance sentences)
United States v. Diosdado-Star, 630 F.3d 359 (4th Cir. 2011) (district court gets deference for the extent of a variance when justified by § 3553(a) factors)