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PaperclipPerfector  11hr ago (text post)   371 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for November 28, 2025

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I forgot to copy some text that clarifies the dissenter's viewpoint here. (The paragraph was cut in half by a page break.)

This approach also fails to take into account that the minor may experience objective physical pain, emotional suffering, or humiliation immediately after or in the minutes, hours, or days following the sexual misconduct depicted in the material. This approach excludes all outside circumstances, even though those circumstances may illuminate whether the sexual misconduct depicted in the material caused the minor to experience objective physical or mental pain and suffering.

Also:

Certainly, the majority’s approach cannot accurately capture the feelings or mental state of a minor through the confined frame of an isolated image or video.[1]

Although the depiction in the material is relevant to the inquiry, the court’s focus should not be so narrow. Rather than confine the court’s inquiry to the image or video and focus on the victim’s appearance and reaction as portrayed in the visual media, the court should consider all relevant circumstances and ultimately focus on the defendant’s conduct.[2] The court’s inquiry should include the course of conduct between the defendant and the minor, the events leading up to and after the footage, and the susceptibility of the minor to the defendant’s possible manipulation and control, as those considerations yield a more accurate determination of whether a minor may have experienced objective physical pain, emotional suffering, or humiliation due to the events depicted in the material.

[1]Parenthetically, this problem is exemplified in the media by teenage Virginia Giuffre, who appears to be smiling and happy in pictures with then Prince Andrew, despite her alleging that he subjected her to extreme sexual abuse.

[2]Indeed, in other areas of the Sentencing Guidelines, we have emphasized that the "focus of the inquiry is on the defendant’s action, not the victim’s reaction".

Were there ever CSM cases where the minor was deemed not susceptible enough to the defendant's manipulation and control?

That quote is from the dissent. "Susceptibility of the minor to the defendant's possible manipulation and control" is not an actual standard that has been used in any cases. The text of the law criminalizes merely "persuading, inducing, enticing, or coercing any individual who has not attained the age of 18 years to engage in prostitution or any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense".

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