United States v. Gatlin

90 F.4th 1050

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Jason GATLIN, Defendant-Appellant.

United States of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Jason Gatlin, Defendants-Appellants.

No. 19-14969

No. 20-14149

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit

Filed: January 5, 2024

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, D.C. Docket No. 1:19-cr-20163-RS-1,

Robert Craig Juman, Emily M. Smachetti, DOJ-USAO, Southern District of Florida, Miami, FL, Jonathan Colan, U.S. Attorney Service - SFL, Miami, FL, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Bernardo Lopez, Federal Public Defender's Office, Fort Lauderdale, Michael Caruso, Federal Public Defender's Office, Southern District of Florida, Miami, FL, for Defendant-Appellant.

Before Jordan, Luck, and Lagoa, Circuit Judges.

Lagoa, Circuit Judge:

Jason Gatlin appeals his convictions and sentences for sex trafficking of a minor, production of child pornography, and witness tampering. On appeal, Gatlin raises several arguments in challenging his convictions and sentences. After careful review, and with the benefit of oral argument, we affirm Gatlin's convictions and sentences as to Counts 1 and 2 but reverse his conviction and sentence as to Count 3. We also affirm the district court's restitution order.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Gatlin's Relationship with and Trafficking of E.H.

E.H.¹ ran away from home when she was sixteen years old. She began using drugs, starting with marijuana and escalating to MDMA. According to E.H., she was unable to get a job, so she traded sex for money and drugs.

In October 2018, J.C., E.H.'s friend at the time, introduced E.H. to Gatlin. Gatlin and E.H. first interacted by talking on the phone and eventually began a sexual relationship. When they first met in person, Gatlin picked up E.H. and took her to a hotel in Florida City, where he paid her about $40 and gave her some drugs in exchange for sex. When E.H. first met Gatlin, she told him that she was seventeen years old.

Subsequently, the two stayed in contact, and E.H. believed that they were in a romantic relationship. E.H. began saying that she was eighteen years old, despite being seventeen years old, because she wanted to protect their relationship. Gatlin and E.H. took at least two trips to Key West, where they stayed together in a house that Gatlin was working on. Throughout this relationship, Gatlin took at least one photograph of them having sex.

During this time, Gatlin became E.H.'s de facto pimp. Gatlin told at least one customer that he was E.H.'s "manager." Gatlin booked hotel rooms for E.H. so that she could engage in sex with customers. He also paid for E.H.'s food, supplied her with MDMA, drove her to the Florida Keys where she would prostitute herself, and allowed her to stay in the house that he was working on there. Additionally, Gatlin coached E.H. to charge more money in the Florida Keys than in Miami given the high presence of tourists and taught her sexual "tricks" so that she could continue to engage in prostitution. In return, Gatlin expected a cut of E.H.'s earnings.

The relationship between Gatlin and E.H. soured quickly. Gatlin became angry that E.H. was having sex with other men. Similarly, E.H. was irate to learn that Gatlin was having sex with other women.

Things came to a head on November 30, 2018. While the two were staying together in the Florida Keys, E.H. threatened to call the police on Gatlin. The situation became violent. As a result of her fight with Gatlin, E.H. suffered injuries to her nose and mouth. On the way back to Miami after their physical altercation, Gatlin threatened E.H. She became scared and asked Gatlin to pull over at a convenience store so that she could use the bathroom. Once inside, she locked herself in the bathroom and called the police. Gatlin then left her there.

Officers from the local sheriff's office responded to E.H.'s call, and after interviewing her, brought her to a hospital, where she spoke with additional officers. Gatlin was arrested three days later.

B. Gatlin's Pretrial Tampering with E.H.

Before trial, Gatlin made two attempts to tamper with E.H.'s testimony. First, in the period after E.H. spoke with law enforcement but prior to his arrest, Gatlin gave E.H. money and food and told her to recant her statements to the police.

Second, after he was arrested, Gatlin told his mother to convince E.H. to recant. In a prison call, Gatlin told his mother that he would "get out immediately" if E.H. said she was lying and that it would take "[o]ne thousand dollars," because "[p]eople will do all kinds of stuff for that." Gatlin's mother said that she understood and that she would "try and do the best [she] can to get [Gatlin] out of there." At the time, E.H. did not have permanent housing and was living with Gatlin's mother. In a later call, Gatlin told E.H. directly that all she had to do was go into court and change her statements in a sworn affidavit. Sometime later, Gatlin's mother drove E.H. to the public defender's office, where E.H. tried to recant her statements to Gatlin's public defender, who eventually relayed her recantation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"). E.H. continued living with Gatlin's mother following that encounter. At trial, E.H. said she tried to recant her statements because she "needed a place to stay."

C. Indictment and Trial

A grand jury charged Gatlin via a superseding indictment with one count of sex trafficking of a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1591 ("Count 1"); one count of production of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251 ("Count 2"); and one count of witness tampering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(3) ("Count 3").

Gatlin's trial began on September 5, 2019, and lasted eight days. At the close of evidence, the district court instructed the jury. Regarding Count 1, the district court instructed the jury that the government was required to prove that Gatlin trafficked E.H. either:

(a) knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that means of force, threats of force, or coercion will be used to cause the person to engage in a commercial sex act, or (b) in reckless disregard of the fact that the person has not attained the age of 18 years, or having had a reasonable opportunity to observe the person, and knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that the person will be caused to engage in a commercial sex act.

In other words, the district court instructed the jurors that to find Gatlin guilty of sex trafficking, they had to find that Gatlin either acted: (a) by means of force, threats of force, or coercion; or (b) in reckless disregard of the fact that E.H. was a minor. The district court and the parties agreed to an interrogatory verdict form for Count 1. That verdict form first asked whether the jury found Gatlin guilty and, if so, whether it was by use of force or by reckless disregard of the fact that the victim was a minor.

At first, the jury found Gatlin guilty on all counts. However, on the interrogatory verdict form, the jury did not find either of the conditions necessary to trigger liability, i.e., use of force or reckless disregard of the fact that the victim was a minor. Because of this inconsistency, defense counsel asked the district court to "direct a verdict of not guilty . . . as to Count 1," but defense counsel did not specify the grounds for doing so. The district court declined. Instead, reasoning that the jury had returned an inconsistent verdict and "the verdict [had not] been discharged," the district court clarified the instructions for the jury and directed them to continue deliberating. After further deliberations, the jury found Gatlin guilty under the second condition, i.e., that Gatlin acted in reckless disregard of the fact that E.H. was a minor.

D. Sentencing

The case proceeded to sentencing. Prior to sentencing, a Presentence Investigation Report ("PSI") was prepared for Gatlin's case. For Count 1, sex trafficking of a minor, the PSI noted that the base offense level was 30. The PSI recommended a total increase of ten points, for an adjusted total level of 40, based on the following reasons: (1) E.H. had been in Gatlin's custody, care, or supervisory control; (2) Gatlin had influenced E.H. to engage in prohibited sexual conduct; (3) the offense involved the use of a computer; (4) the offense involved the commission of a sex act; and (5) Gatlin had obstructed justice.² For Count 2, production of child pornography, the PSI noted that the base offense level was 32. It adjusted this offense level by eight points, reaching a total adjusted offense level of 40, reasoning as follows: (1) a two-point increase because E.H. was in Gatlin's custody, care, or supervisory control; (2) a two-point increase because the offense involved a sexual act; and (3) a four-point increase because the material produced portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence. Based on the number of offenses and their levels, the PSI calculated that the total combined offense level was 42, to which it added a five-point increase because Gatlin qualified as a repeat offender. The PSI thus defaulted to the maximum offense level for the relevant offenses, which was 43. Next, in light of Gatlin's record, the PSI found that his criminal history category was IV. Based on Gatlin's total offense level and criminal history category, the PSI found that, under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, he should be sentenced to a term of life imprisonment.

The district court sentenced Gatlin to a term of life imprisonment—a term of life as to Count 1, 260 months as to Count 2, and 240 months as to Count 3, all to be served concurrently. The district court considered a multitude of factors, including the PSI, Gatlin's "extensive" criminal history, Gatlin's mental health issues, Gatlin's likelihood to reoffend and the need to protect the public, and Gatlin's prior violations of probation. After a separate hearing, ...