Case Information
*2
CALLAHAN, Circuit Judge:
Pedro Cabrera-Gutierrez (“Cabrera”) appeals his conviction and sentence for failing to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”). On appeal he advances two arguments. First, he asserts that Congress lacked authority under the Commerce Clause to compel his registration as a sex offender. Second, he contends that he should have been sentenced as a Tier I, rather than a Tier III, sex offender. We hold that Congress has authority under the Commerce Clause to compel Cabrera, a convicted sex offender who traveled interstate, to register under SORNA. We also hold that under the modified categorical approach, Cabrera’s plea to the state charge of sexual abuse rendered him a Tier III sex offender. *3 Accordingly, we affirm Cabrera’s conviction and sentence.
I
Cabrera was born in Mexico and has been removed from
the United States several times. In 1998, Cabrera was
Cabrera raises a third issue: whether the government improperly denied
him a third level of reduction for acceptance of responsibility under the
United States Sentencing Guidelines § 3E1.1(b). However, Cabrera
recognizes that we rejected this position in
United States v. Johnson
581 F.3d 994, 1001 (9th Cir. 2009) (holding that “the allocation and
expenditure of prosecutorial resources for the purposes of defending an
appeal is a rational basis for declining to move for the third reduction
point”), and that our three-judge panel is foreclosed from reconsidering
the issue.
See United States v. Gay
,
I on May 2, 1998 did knowingly have sexual intercourse with [redacted] and she was unable to legally consent to having sexual intercourse with me because she was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the sexual intercourse. Further [redacted] was 15 years old on May 2, 1998.
Cabrera was sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment and required to register as a sex offender. When Cabrera was released from custody in September 2000, he was advised of his responsibility to register as a sex offender under Oregon law and promptly removed to Mexico.
On February 3, 2012, Cabrera was arrested for a traffic violation in Yakima, Washington. He was subsequently charged in the district court with failing to register as a sex offender in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2250. Specifically, the indictment alleged that Cabrera was an individual who was required to register under SORNA, and having traveled in interstate commerce, did knowingly fail to register in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2250. The indictment further alleged that Cabrera had failed to meet his registration obligation during a period of time from February 3, 2011, through February 3, 2012.
Cabrera filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that Congress
*4
lacked authority to require him to register as a sex offender.
The district court denied the motion, noting that although
United States v. George
,
A Pre-Sentence Investigation Report (“PSR”) was prepared which listed Cabrera’s offense level as 16 under United States Sentencing Guidelines § 2A3.5(a)(1) because he was required to register as a Tier III sex offender. Cabrera objected to the PSR. He argued that his prior conviction only qualified him as a Tier I sex offender, not a Tier III offender, because his Oregon conviction was not comparable to, or more severe than, “aggravated sexual abuse or sexual abuse,” as defined in 42 U.S.C. § 16911. The district court rejected this argument noting that Cabrera’s guilty plea admitted that the girl was intoxicated and 15 years old. The court gave Cabrera credit for time served on a prior conviction and sentenced him to 17 months in prison with three years of supervised release. Cabrera filed a timely notice of appeal from his conviction and sentence.
II
We first review the district court’s denial of Cabrera’s
motion to dismiss the indictment. We review that decision de
novo.
United States. v. Milovanovic
,
Cabrera argues that SORNA requires sex offenders to
register their names, addresses, employment or school
information, and to appear in person at least once a year for
verification of their information. This, Cabrera asserts, is an
unconstitutional regulation of his inactivity under the
U NITED S TATES V . C ABRERA -G UTIERREZ
Supreme Court’s recent opinion in
National Federation of
Independent Business v. Sebelius
, – U.S. –,
In anticipation of the government’s reliance on “an additional jurisdictional hook,” such as travel across state lines, Cabrera argues that SORNA requires all sex offenders to register, regardless of travel, and that the duty to register under SORNA precedes any act of travel. Thus, he continues, “SORNA would hold an individual who fails to register, travels and then registers equally responsible as an individual who never registers, before or after travel.” He argues, citing Sebelius , 132 S. Ct. at 2590, that “the proposition that Congress may dictate conduct of an individual today [i.e., registering as a sex offender] because of prophesied future activity [i.e., interstate travel] finds no support in the applicable Commerce Clause precedent.” Cabrera concludes that because Congress lacks the power to require an individual to register as a sex offender, it follows that it cannot penalize him for failing to register, even if he has traveled in interstate commerce.
Cabrera’s arguments may be creative but they are not
persuasive. In
United States v. Lopez
,
We held in
George
,
SORNA was enacted to keep track of sex offenders. See Carr v. United States , – U.S. –,130 S. Ct. 2229 , 2240,176 L. Ed.2d 1152 (2010) (“[SORNA was] enacted to address the deficiencies in prior law that had enabled sex offenders to slip through the cracks.”). Such offenders are required to “register, and keep registration current, in each jurisdiction” where the offender lives, works, or goes to school. 42 U.S.C. § 16913(a). As stated by the Eighth Circuit, “[t]his language indicates Congress wanted registration to track the movement of sex offenders through different jurisdictions.” United States v. Howell552 F.3d 709 , 716 (8th Cir. 2009). “Under § 2250, Congress limited the enforcement of the registration requirement to only those sex offenders who were either convicted of a federal sex offense or who move in interstate commerce.” Id . (citing 18 U.S.C. § 2250(a)(2)). The requirements of § 16913 are reasonably aimed at “regulating persons or things in interstate commerce and the use of the channels of interstate commerce.” Id . at 717 (quoting [ United States v. ] May , 535 F.3d [912] at 921 [(8th Cir. 2008)]) (quotation marks omitted).
In
George
we noted that, in addition to the Eighth Circuit,
*7
the Fourth, Fifth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits had upheld
SORNA’s constitutionality under the Commerce Clause.
[2]
See United States v. Gould
,
“that § 2250(a) does not violate the Commerce Clause”);
United States v.
Whaley
,
In sum, we see no reason to depart from our previously expressed opinion and reaffirm that Congress had the power under the Commerce Clause to enact SORNA.
Cabrera’s attempt to separate SORNA’s interstate travel
and duty to register components fails for several reasons.
First, because Cabrera was charged and convicted of failing
to register after having traveled in interstate commerce, it is
questionable whether he may properly challenge the duty to
States v. Ambert
, 561 F.3d 1202, 1210 (11th Cir. 2009) (holding that
“Section 2250 is a proper regulation falling under either of the first two
Lopez
categories because it regulates both the use of channels of interstate
commerce and the instrumentalities of interstate commerce”).
See United States v. Guzman
,
[S]ection 16913 cannot be divorced from
section 2250 in evaluating whether the
Commerce Clause gives Congress
the
authority to require anyone convicted of a sex
offense to register. Imposing a duty to
register as a matter of federal law would do
little to solve the problem of sex offenders
slipping through the cracks absent the
enforcement mechanism supplied by section
2250. Interstate travel by a sex offender is not
merely a jurisdictional hook but a critical part
of the problem that Congress was attempting
to solve, for whenever sex offenders cross
state lines they tend to evade the ability of any
individual state to track them and thereby
“threaten the efficacy of the statutory
scheme. . . .” [
Carr
, 130 S. Ct.] at 2239;
see
also id.
at 2238 (it was reasonable for
The propriety of SORNA’s application to
intrastate
travel by a sex
offender is before the Supreme Court in
United States v. Kebodeaux
, No.
12-418,
cert. granted
,
*9 Congress to give States primary responsibility to supervise and ensure compliance among state sex offenders and subject such offenders to federal criminal liability only when “they use the channels of interstate commerce in evading a State’s reach”); id . at 2240 (act of travel by sex offender is not merely a jurisdictional predicate but is “the very conduct at which Congress took aim”); id . at 2241 (section 2250 “subject[s] to federal prosecution sex offenders who elude SORNA’s registration requirements by traveling in interstate commerce”).
The Second, Fifth, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuits are in accord.
Furthermore, we have recently upheld the registration
requirement under the Necessary and Proper Clause. In
United States v. Elk Shoulder
,
See Guzman
,
The Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Seventh and Eleventh
Circuits are in agreement. Accordingly, we reject Cabrera’s
See Guzman
, 591 F.3d at 91 (stating “[t]o the extent that § 16913
regulates solely intrastate activity, its means are reasonably adapted to the
attainment of a legitimate end under the commerce power”) (quotation
marks and citations omitted);
United States v. Pendleton
,
Finally, whatever the merits of Cabrera’s reading of Sebelius , SORNA does not regulate individuals “precisely because they are doing nothing,” 132 S. Ct. at 2587. SORNA applies only to individuals who have been convicted of a sexual offense. Thus, registration is required only of those individuals who, through being criminally charged and convicted, have placed themselves in a category of persons who pose a specific danger to society. Moreover, SORNA’s application to Cabrera is based on his further admitted activities of traveling in interstate commerce and then failing to register. Thus, SORNA does not punish the type of inactivity addressed in Sebelius . We adhere to precedent and sound reasoning in concluding that Congress had the authority to enact SORNA and that SORNA’s application to Cabrera is constitutional.
III
We next consider Cabrera’s challenges to his sentence.
We review a district court’s interpretation of the Sentencing
Guidelines de novo, and the court’s factual findings for clear
*11
error.
United States v. Swank
,
14
2012);
United States v. Laurienti
,
As applied to Cabrera’s situation, 42 U.S.C. § 16911(4)
defines a “tier III sex offender” as “a sex offender whose
offense is punishable by imprisonment for more than 1 year
and . . . is comparable to or more severe than . . . aggravated
sexual abuse or sexual abuse (as described in sections 2241
and 2242 of Title 18).” Section 2242 defines the crime of
In these cases, we have noted “an intracircuit conflict as to whether the
standard of review for application of the Guidelines to the facts is de novo
or abuse of discretion.”
Swank
,
42 U.S.C. § 16911(4) defines a Tier III offender as follows:
The term “tier III sex offender” means a sex offender whose offense is punishable by imprisonment for more than 1 year and-- (A) is comparable to or more severe than the following offenses, or an attempt or conspiracy to commit such an offense:
(i) aggravated sexual abuse or sexual abuse (as described in sections 2241 and 2242 of Title 18); or
(ii) abusive sexual contact (as described in section 2244 of Title 18) against a minor who has not attained the age of 13 years; (B) involves kidnapping of a minor (unless committed by a parent or guardian); or *12 U NITED S TATES V . C ABRERA -G UTIERREZ sexual abuse to include knowingly engaging “in a sexual act with another person if that other person is – (A) incapable of appraising the nature of the conduct; or (B) physically incapable of declining participation in, or communicating unwillingness to engage in, that sexual act.” (C) occurs after the offender becomes a tier II sex offender.
1 0 18 U.S.C. § 2242 reads:
W hoever, in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States or in a Federal prison, or in any prison, institution, or facility in which persons are held in custody by direction of or pursuant to a contract or agreement with the head of any Federal department or agency, knowingly-- (1) causes another person to engage in a sexual act by threatening or placing that other person in fear (other than by threatening or placing that other person in fear that any person will be subjected to death, serious bodily injury, or kidnapping); or (2) engages in a sexual act with another person if that other person is--
(A) incapable of appraising the nature of the conduct; or
(B) physically incapable of declining participation in, or communicating unwillingness to engage in, that sexual act;
or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for any term of years or for life. The Oregon statute governing Cabrera’s prior conviction stated:
(1) A person commits the crime of sexual *13 abuse in the second degree when that person subjects another person to sexual intercourse, deviate sexual intercourse . . . and the victim does not consent thereto.
Or. Rev. Stat. § 263.425 (1998).
Cabrera argues that the district court misunderstood the nature of his plea. He asserts that he “never admitted to having intercourse with someone incapable of providing actual consent, as required by federal law. All [he] admitted was having sexual intercourse with someone who was legally incapable of consenting, due to being under the influence of alcohol and due to age.” Cabrera claims that being under the influence of drugs or alcohol “does not vitiate the capacity to make voluntary decisions.”
Cabrera also argues that the limited nature of his
admission has significance under Oregon law. He asserts that
under “Oregon law all individuals under 18 are legally
incapable of consenting to intercourse, regardless of actual
consent,” and incapacity based on the minor’s age is second
degree sexual assault.
See
Or. Rev. Stat. § 163.315. Cabrera
contrasts this with an Oregon law that provides that a person
who is mentally incapacitated or physically helpless cannot
consent to intercourse, and that a violation of this statute
constitutes first degree rape.
See
Or. Rev. Stat. § 163.375(d).
Cabrera claims that when he pled guilty, he “only intended to
establish the offense of second degree child abuse, not the
more serious offense of first degree rape.”
Cabrera goes on to argue, citing
Young v. Holder
We agree with the parties that the Oregon conviction is
not a categorical match to 18 U.S.C. § 2242, but conclude
that the application of the modified categorical approach
establishes that Cabrera is a Tier III offender. Cabrera’s plea
is a document that the court may consider under the modified
categorical approach.
United States. v. Castillo-Marin
Cabrera’s arguments concerning Oregon law and his plea agreement are not persuasive. First, the federal definition of “sexual abuse” as set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 2243, which requires that the victim be “incapable of appraising the nature of the conduct,” does not cover only convictions where the victim was “incapable of consent by reason of mental defect, mental incapacitation or physical helplessness.” Such a limited interpretation is contrary to a common-sense reading of the statute, would render a section of the statute redundant, and is not supported by any authorities. Second, intoxication can be the cause of a victim’s incapacity to consent. See United States v. Smith , 606 F.3d 1270, 1281–82 (10th Cir. 2010) (noting that victim was heavily intoxicated before the assault); United States v. Carter , 410 F.3d 1017, 1027 (8th Cir. 2005) (holding that evidence the victim smoked marijuana and drank alcohol, and felt drowsy and really tired, was sufficient to conclude that the victim was unable to appraise the nature of the perpetrator’s conduct).
1 2 If the language in § 2242(1)(A) requiring that the victim be “incapable
of appraising the nature of the conduct” were limited to the meaning
proposed by Cabrera, the disjunctive language in § 2242(1)(B) providing
that it is also sexual abuse to engage in a sexual act with a person
“physically incapable of declining participation in, or communicating
unwillingness to engage in” the sexual act, would be at least partially
redundant.
See South Dakota v. Yankton Sioux Tribe
,
1 3
Cabrera cites cases holding that intoxication does not necessarily
invalidate a consent to search.
See United States v. Watters
,
IV
Cabrera, having been convicted in Oregon of the crime of sexual abuse and having been ordered to register as a sex second, Cabrera in his plea statement admitted that his victim was unable to consent because of her intoxication.
1 4 Because we hold that Cabrera’s statement that his victim could not consent due to intoxication is sufficient to render him a Tier III sex offender, we need not, and do not, consider whether the victim’s young age would meet § 2242’s definition of sexual abuse.
offender, chose to travel interstate and failed to register under SORNA. We conclude, as have our sister circuits, that Congress has the authority under the Commerce Clause to enact SORNA and to require Cabrera to register under SORNA as a sex offender. We also conclude that Cabrera’s admission in his plea statement that the victim of his sexual abuse was unable to consent because of her intoxication is sufficient, under the modified categorical approach, to render his state conviction a crime of sexual abuse pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2242. Accordingly, Cabrera’s conviction and sentence are AFFIRMED .
