Eric Grzywinski appealed his 45-year sentence for attempting to produce child pornography. The district court had enhanced his guidelines calculations based on a prior aggravated sexual assault of a child under Texas law. Grzywinski contested the enhancement, arguing that while the Texas crime can be committed against minors up to age 16, the predicate predicate offense only includes victims younger than 16. The Fifth Circuit disagreed. It said the enhancement at issue, 18 U.S.C. 2251(e), specifically allows increased sentences for state sex crimes against minors up to 17 years old. See 18 U.S.C. 2256(1).

Grzywinski contended his Texas conviction for aggravated sexual assault of a child does not qualify as a prior conviction under § 2251(e). He claimed the relevant predicate crime in § 2251(e) (“abusive sexual contact involving a minor or ward”) applies only to victims under age 16, whereas the Texas statute applies to victims under age 17. He argued that because the Texas offense is broader than the federal predicate it cannot serve as an enhancing offense under § 2251(e).

The court applied a categorical approach to assess whether the Texas offense triggers the § 2251(e) enhancement. What matters under such an analysis is whether the elements of the Texas crime match the elements of the predicate offense under § 2251. The Texas statute would not match § 2251(e) if it “criminalizes more conduct than [§2251(e)] would reach by its terms.” The court found the Texas statute actually sweeps more narrowly. It applies to victims who are 16 years old and younger, whereas the federal offense extends to 17-year-old victims. Consequently, Grzywinski’s Texas conviction for the aggravated assault of a child qualifies as an enhancing offense under § 2251(e).

United States v. Grzywinski