United States v. Thielemann
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
575 F.3d 265 (2009)
- Written by Liz Nakamura, JD
Facts
Paul Thielemann (defendant) was sexually attracted to adult men who sexually abused children. One of Thielemann’s sexual relationships was with Christopher Phillips, an adult man with whom Thielemann corresponded over the internet through email or online chat. During Thielemann’s communications with Phillips, Thielemann sent Phillips child-pornography images and encouraged Phillips to sexually abuse the eight-year-old girl in Phillips’s care and control. Thielemann then offered Phillips money to turn on his webcam and sexually abuse the child for Thielemann’s sexual gratification. Thielemann was caught when America Online (AOL), which hosted Thielemann’s email account, flagged an email Thielemann sent containing child pornography. Delaware State Police obtained a warrant, seized Thielemann’s computer, and discovered hundreds of images of child pornography along with all the logs of Thielemann’s chats with Phillips. The federal government (plaintiff) charged Thielemann with receiving child pornography. Thielemann pleaded guilty. Thielemann was sentenced to 240 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release, during which Thielemann would be prohibited from accessing any pornographic materials or accessing the internet without his probation officer’s prior permission. Thielemann appealed the sentence, arguing that the district court erred by imposing the two special conditions on his supervised release.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Garth, J.)
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