United States v. Rodriguez

── United States v. Rodriguez ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Date: April 30, 2026 Category: Direct Criminal Case: 25-40428 Document: 49-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/30/2026 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 25-40428 FILED April 30, 2026 ____________ Lyle W. Cayce United States of America, Clerk Plaintiff—Appellee, versus Jose Rodriguez, Jr., Defendant—Appellant. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 7:24-CR-1538-1 ______________________________ Before Stewart, Engelhardt, and Douglas, Circuit Judges. Kurt D. Engelhardt, Circuit Judge:* Jose Rodriguez, Jr. was found guilty of possessing child pornography. He appeals the district court’s imposition of an above-guidelines sentence, arguing that the sentence is procedurally and substantively unreasonable because the district court did not adequately explain its reasoning, relied too heavily on his previous conviction for attempted aggravated sexual assault of a minor, and punished him for maintaining his innocence. We AFFIRM. _____________________ * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. Case: 25-40428 Document: 49-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/30/2026 No. 25-40428 I. Rodriguez was charged with possessing child pornography, consisting of images and videos involving a prepubescent minor or a minor who had not attained 12 years of age, after having been previously convicted of attempted aggravated sexual assault of a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2252A(a)(5)(B), 2252A(b)(2), and 2256. He exercised his right to trial by jury and was found guilty. At sentencing, neither party objected to the presentence report (PSR), and the district court adopted it. The PSR calculated a guidelines range of 151 to 188 months’ imprisonment and a supervised release range of five years to life. The Government requested a sentence at the top end of the guidelines. It highlighted the egregious facts of Rodriguez’s prior conviction for attempted sexual assault. There, he attempted to sexually assault a nine- year-old girl after tying up an eight-year-old boy in another room so that he would not witness the assault. The Government noted that Rodriguez first downloaded child pornography nine months after his release from prison for the attempted sexual assault offense, arguing that he has an uncontrollable, strong sexual interest in children. Rodriguez’s counsel requested a sentence at the lower end of the guidelines range, arguing that the court should not emphasize Rodriguez’s prior conviction for which he already served his sentence, he did not commit a physical act, he had no personal relationship with the victims, and he has a strong family support system. Rodriguez then personally addressed the court: Good afternoon, Your Honor. I was hoping the situation wouldn’t have got to this, but unfortunately, we’re here. With that being said, I still continue to maintain my innocence, and I stand before you and respectfully ask that you take into