NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _____________ No. 22-1679 _____________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. AARON CARMICHAEL, Appellant _______________ On Appeal from the United States District Court For the Middle District of Pennsylvania (D.C. No. 1-21-cr-0069-001) District Judge: Honorable Jennifer P. Wilson _______________ Submitted Under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) March 20, 2023 Before: JORDAN, GREENAWAY, JR., and McKEE, Circuit Judges (Filed: April 3, 2023) _______________ OPINION _______________ This disposition is not an opinion of the full court and, pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7, does not constitute binding precedent. JORDAN, Circuit Judge. Aaron Carmichael challenges his sentence, arguing that the District Court should have agreed with his criticism of the sentencing guidelines for child pornography offenses. He also argues that he should not have to pay restitution to one of the victims depicted in the pornography he possessed. Because his arguments lack merit, we will affirm. I. BACKGROUND Carmichael came to the attention of federal authorities in January 2021 after child pornography was posted in an internet chatroom using the internet protocol address associated with the home Carmichael shared with his girlfriend and her three children. Law enforcement officers searched the home in February 2021. During the search, after being read his Miranda rights, Carmichael admitted using his phone to download pornographic images of persons he claimed he thought were 18 or 19 years old, though he acknowledged they may have been younger. He also admitted to having posted images in the earlier mentioned internet chatroom using the username “Skinnyjeans34.” (PSR ¶ 6.) That was the username that had posted the child pornography. Law enforcement officials were unable to unlock Carmichael’s phone, but they were able to review items saved on its Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, which included 88 files containing child pornography. Of those 88 files, 60 were videos and the remaining 28 were images. Among the 28 images were the eight images that had been posted in the chatroom. At least 15 of the 88 files depicted victims under the age of 12. 2 And 10 of the 88 files contained images of “sadistic or masochistic conduct/violence imagery[.]” (Answering Br. at 5 (quoting PSR ¶ 7).) Carmichael was indicted in March 2021 for one count of distribution of images containing the sexual exploitation of a child, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2), and one count of possession of images containing the sexual exploitation of children, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B). He pled guilty to both counts. The Presentence Investigation Report (“PSR”) for Carmichael recommended a guidelines range of 188 to 235 months’ imprisonment, derived from a total offense level of 34 and a criminal history category of III. The PSR calculated the base offense level to be 22, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2G2.2(a)(2). That number was increased by 15 levels due to the following five enhancements: Two additional levels because the material “involved a prepubescent minor or a minor who had not attained the age of 12.” U.S.S.G. § 2G2.2(b)(2). …
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