Case: 18-11690 Date Filed: 12/20/2019 Page: 1 of 24 [PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 18-11690 ________________________ D.C. Docket No. 5:17-cr-00383-RDP-JHE-1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus NATHAN RICHARD VINEYARD, Defendant-Appellant. ________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ________________________ (December 20, 2019) Before MARCUS, JULIE CARNES, and KELLY,∗ Circuit Judges. JULIE CARNES, Circuit Judge: ∗ Honorable Paul J. Kelly, Jr., United States Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit, sitting by designation. Case: 18-11690 Date Filed: 12/20/2019 Page: 2 of 24 Defendant Nathan Vineyard appeals from the district court’s denial of his motion to dismiss an indictment charging him with failing to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”) in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2250(a). The charge is predicated on Vineyard’s prior conviction for sexual battery in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-13- 505. Vineyard argues he is not required to register as a sex offender because his Tennessee sexual battery conviction is not a qualifying sex offense as defined by SORNA. After a careful review of the record and with the benefit of oral argument, we conclude that sexual battery, as defined by the Tennessee statute under which Vineyard was convicted, qualifies as a sex offense under SORNA. Accordingly, we affirm. BACKGROUND In March 2012, Vineyard was charged with rape and false imprisonment in Campbell County, Tennessee. The charges were related to Vineyard’s rape of an adult female victim at a Caryville, Tennessee motel after holding the victim in a motel room for several hours against her will. Vineyard ultimately pled guilty to sexual battery in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-13-505 and aggravated assault in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-13-102(a). He was sentenced to two years for the sexual battery and six years for the aggravated assault, to be served consecutively. 2 Case: 18-11690 Date Filed: 12/20/2019 Page: 3 of 24 Upon being paroled from prison in September 2016, Vineyard signed an instruction form acknowledging that he was subject to the federal sex offender registration requirements of SORNA. The form instructed Vineyard that, pursuant to SORNA, he was required to register as a sex offender in the jurisdiction of his residence and in any jurisdiction in which he was employed. The form also advised Vineyard that SORNA required him to notify any jurisdiction in which he was required to register within three business days after a change of residence, and that Tennessee law required him to register with the appropriate law enforcement agency within 48 hours of his release from any subsequent incarcerations. Pursuant to the instructions he received, Vineyard registered as a sex offender with a residence in Harriman, Tennessee. On April 11, 2017, Vineyard was released from the Anderson County, Tennessee jail after being charged with public intoxication and evading arrest. The charges were filed after an incident in March 2017, during which Vineyard failed to stop for police officers ...
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