Opinion
S1 16 CR 476 (VB)
04-27-2021
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. EDWARD DIAZ, Defendant.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER :
By letter dated March 1, 2021, as supplemented by a letter from his attorney dated March 25, 2021, defendant Edward Diaz seeks a reduction of sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i), principally because he claims to be at risk of severe complications from COVID-19 if he were to contract the disease.
For the reasons set forth below, the motion is DENIED.
Diaz was arrested on a complaint on June 13, 2016, and released on bail the next day. After the government appealed the release order, bail was revoked, and Diaz was remanded on June 17, 2016. Thereafter, Diaz was indicted for distribution of child pornography, possession of child pornography, production of child pornography, and obstruction of justice. In a superseding indictment filed on September 15, 2016, the production charge was replaced with a count charging sexual exploitation of a child.
On March 9, 2017, pursuant to a plea agreement, Diaz pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography. Among other things, the parties stipulated that the offense involved causing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct; a minor under the age of 12; and the commission of a sexual act or sexual contact. The parties also stipulated that Diaz had willfully obstructed or impeded the administration of justice. The relevant facts are as follows: Diaz's internet service provider had reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Diaz had emailed multiple images of child pornography to himself. These images included pictures of a girl between the ages of 9 and 11 lying naked on a bed, a second girl between the ages of 10 and 12 exposing her genitals, and a third girl between the ages of 5 and 7 topless with what appeared to be semen in and around her mouth. Thereafter, several law enforcement officers interviewed Diaz at his home, where they observed a laptop computer inside Diaz's bedroom. The officers left to obtain a search warrant, but when they returned they learned Diaz had left, taking the laptop with him. The officers tracked down Diaz, who said he had taken the laptop to a repair shop, which was a lie. The laptop was never recovered, but the officers did execute the search warrant at Diaz's residence, and seized a digital memory card. The memory card contained, among other things, images of two girls between the ages of 7 and 9 being sexually abused. One of the images depicted one of the girls performing oral sex on Diaz.
On September 8, 2017, the Court sentenced Diaz to 210 months' imprisonment (17½ years), followed by a lifetime term of supervised release. The Court observed that Diaz had committed a reprehensible offense, in that it involved not only the distribution of child pornography, but also the production of child pornography and the commission of a sexual act with a prepubescent minor. The Court also noted Diaz had wilfully obstructed justice by discarding his laptop for the obvious reason that he did not want the officers to find out what was on the laptop.
In imposing sentence, the Court carefully considered all of the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), including the statute's "parsimony clause": the requirement that the sentence be sufficient but not greater than necessary to satisfy the statutory sentencing factors. The Court observed that, in its experience, the child pornography sentencing guidelines sometimes unfairly exaggerated a defendant's sentencing exposure. But that was not the case here because "we're talking about sexual abuse of a little girl by a grown man for his own sexual gratification, without regard for the life-long adverse consequences such conduct has for the victim," which could fairly be characterized as sadistic, as well as the production of child pornography.
The Court nevertheless imposed a sentence at the low end of the applicable guidelines range of 210 to 240 months, given that Diaz's guilty plea spared the victim the additional trauma of a trial, he had no prior criminal history, he had a history of legitimate employment, he himself was a victim of child abuse as a child, and that he suffered from various health problems, including Crohn's disease, a chronic and debilitating gastro-intestinal condition. As explained by the Court, that sentence was sufficient but not greater than necessary to reflect the seriousness of the offense, promote respect for the law, provide just punishment, afford adequate deterrence, and protect the public from further crimes of the defendant.
Diaz has been detained since June 17, 2016. To date, he has served 58 months of his 210-month sentence, or about 28% percent of the sentence imposed. He is currently incarcerated at Federal Medical Center ("FMC") Devens, where he has been receiving long-term medical care for his various health conditions, including chronic kidney disease, Crohn's disease, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, carotid artery stenosis, obesity, sleep apnea, erythrocytosis, and vascular disease. He has also received both doses of the Moderna vaccine against COVID-19.
The law does not permit a sentence of imprisonment to be reduced once it has been imposed, except in the rare circumstance in which the Court, "after considering the factors set forth in section 3553(a) to the extent that they are applicable, . . . finds that . . . extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction." 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). In the instant motion, Diaz argues that his age (he is 64) and poor health, and the fact that he resides in a congregate-style setting, put him at increased risk of severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19, thus warranting his immediate release from prison.
The Court finds that Diaz has not demonstrated extraordinary and compelling reasons warranting an early release from his lawfully imposed prison sentence, and that even if he did, consideration of the Section 3553(a) factors counsels strongly against his early release.
First, although Diaz certainly suffers from a number of serious health conditions, his prison medical records reflect that those conditions are treatable and that he has in fact received substantial treatment and medication for those conditions. In other words, FMC Devens, a medical facility, is able to manage and has effectively managed Diaz's multiple health problems. Moreover, Diaz is now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, which means he is protected against both contracting the disease and severe complications if he did contract the disease.
Importantly, Section 3582(c)(1)(A) mandates that the Court also consider the Section 3553(a) factors "to the extent that they are applicable." The Court has done so here. The exceptionally serious nature of Diaz's offense conduct warranted a lengthy prison sentence at the time it was imposed. Indeed, the sentence was designed to promote respect for the law and provide just punishment for the offense, as well as to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct and protect the public from further crimes of the defendant—especially considering that Diaz not only possessed and distributed child pornography, but also engaged in actual sexual conduct with a little girl and took the time to photograph that conduct for his own sexual gratification. These sentencing factors supported the sentence at the time it was imposed, and they still weigh strongly against Diaz's early release. Diaz fully earned a lengthy prison sentence by his reprehensible, even despicable, conduct. There is nothing in the instant motion that warrants a reduction in the length or severity of that sentence.
Defendant Edward Diaz's motion for a reduction of sentence is DENIED. Dated: April 27, 2021
White Plains, NY
SO ORDERED:
/s/_________
Vincent L. Briccetti
United States District Judge