## Facts

- Emiliano Ramirez-Garcia, a Mexican citizen, entered the United States without authorization in 2000.
- In 2002, he was arrested in North Carolina and ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts of taking indecent liberties with a child under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-202.1.
- After serving his state sentence, he was removed from the United States and later reentered without authorization.
- In 2007, he was found in the United States and charged with illegal reentry after removal following an aggravated felony conviction, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a), (b)(2).
- He pleaded guilty to illegal reentry.
- At sentencing, the Probation Office recommended a 16-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii), treating the North Carolina indecent-liberties conviction as “sexual abuse of a minor” and thus a “crime of violence.”
- The district court applied the enhancement and sentenced Ramirez-Garcia; he appealed the enhancement.

## Issues

1. Whether a conviction under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-202.1 categorically qualifies as “sexual abuse of a minor” and therefore a “crime of violence” under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii).

## Decision

- The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the sentence.
- The court held that a conviction under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-202.1 categorically constitutes “sexual abuse of a minor” under the circuit’s controlling definition and therefore is an enumerated “crime of violence” under § 2L1.2.
- The court rejected the claim that the statute is overbroad relative to the Guidelines term and upheld the 16-level enhancement.

## Legal Principles

- Under the categorical approach, courts compare the elements of the prior offense to the generic federal definition of the enumerated Guidelines offense, not the defendant’s underlying conduct.
- In this circuit, “sexual abuse of a minor” includes physical or non-physical misuse or maltreatment of a minor for a purpose associated with sexual gratification.
- A state offense requiring (1) a minor victim and (2) conduct or attempted conduct taken for sexual gratification may qualify categorically as “sexual abuse of a minor” when every violation fits within the federal definition.
- Overbreadth challenges must show a realistic probability that the state statute is applied to conduct outside the federal definition; unsupported hypotheticals and the absence of contrary state precedent are insufficient.

## Conclusion

The Eleventh Circuit held that North Carolina’s indecent-liberties-with-a-child offense is categorically “sexual abuse of a minor,” making it a “crime of violence” under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 and validating the 16-level enhancement for illegal reentry after removal.


United States v. Ramirez-Garcia, 646 F.3d 778 (11th Cir. 2011)