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David RomanNose was convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor and sexual abuse of a minor.
The district court then sentenced RomanNose to life in prison for aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, to run concurrently with his 180-month sentence for sexual abuse of a minor.
RomanNose appealed his conviction for aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, arguing the evidence presented at trial was insufficient for a jury to find he used force. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed.
The 10th Circuit found that the evidence was sufficient for a reasonable jury to find RomanNose used force to perpetrate the assault.
Because it affirmed the aggravated sexual abuse of a minor conviction, the 10th Circuit remanded for the district court to vacate his sentence for that conviction or for the conviction for sexual abuse of a minor, as sentencing RomanNose for both counts violated his rights under the Fifth Amendment’s double jeopardy clause.
If the district court doesn’t vacate the sentence for aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, the 10th Circuit concluded it must resentence RomanNose because it plainly erred by applying U.S. Sentencing Guideline 2A3.1(b)(4)(B) without finding that the minor sustained a serious bodily injury other than the sexual assault.