US v. Weingarten, No. 09-2043

Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct Conviction Affirmed

In US v. Weingarten, No. 09-2043, the court reversed Defendant's conviction for travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct where travel by a U.S. citizen between two foreign countries absent any territorial nexus to the U.S., did not constitute "travel[] in foreign commerce" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. section 2423(b).

As the court wrote:  "Defendant-Appellant Israel Weingarten ("Weingarten") appeals from a May 8, 2009, judgment of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Gleeson, J.), sentencing him to a total of 30 years' imprisonment and three years' supervised release following his conviction by a jury on two counts of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2423(a), and three counts of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2423(b). Weingarten was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment on each of the five counts, with the sentences pursuant to the first three counts-the two counts under § 2423(a) and the first count under § 2423(b)-to run consecutively, and the sentences pursuant to the remaining two counts to run concurrently with each other and with those under the first three counts."

Related Resources

• Read the Ninth Circuit's Decision in US v. Weingarten, No. 09-2043