Alexander Christian Miles, M.D. pled guilty to violating 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(3) by providing false information on an affidavit in support of an application for a visa. On the application, Dr. Miles misrepresented that a 14 year old Cambodian girl, whom he had married in Cambodia and sought to bring back to the United States, was 18 years of age. The district court judge sentenced Dr. Miles to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release to which the judge attached several sex offender-related conditions. Dr. Miles appeals the district court's imposition of the sex-offender conditions. We take jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a) and 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and AFFIRM.
I. BACKGROUND
In or about October of 2001, at the age of 43 years old, Dr. Miles married a 14-year old Cambodian girl, S.K., in a Cambodian wedding ceremony. In or about December of 2001, Dr. Miles transported his teenage wife from Cambodia to New York City.
On November 16, 2005, Dr. Miles was indicted for transporting S.K., at the age of 15 years, from New York City to Altus, Oklahoma, with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct ("First Indictment"). The district court dismissed the First Indictment on grounds that Dr. Miles's marriage to S.K. precluded, as a matter of law, a charge for transporting the minor for illicit sexual conduct.
On April 18, 2006, the grand jury issued another Indictment, arising from Dr. Miles's efforts to bring S.K. to the United States ("Second Indictment"). This Second Indictment charged Dr. Miles with transporting S.K. in interstate commerce with the intent to engage in acts of sexual intercourse accomplished with force and threat of force. Dr. Miles moved to dismiss the Second Indictment on double jeopardy grounds, which motion the district court denied and this Court affirmed, on June 11, 2009, in United States v. Miles, 327 F. App'x 797 (10th Cir. 2009) (unpublished). About a week after remand to the district court, the government filed a Superseding Information that charged Dr. Miles with knowingly and willfully making a false statement concerning S.K.'s age on an affidavit in support of a visa application, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(3). The parties entered into a plea agreement, whereby Dr. Miles pled guilty to the charged violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(3).
The day before the sentencing hearing, as a result of information contained in the Presentence Investigation Report, the district court entered an order directing the parties to address at the hearing whether Dr. Miles should be required to register as a sex offender. At the sentencing hearing, Special Agent Brad Thompson of the Federal Bureau of Investigations testified that, during an interview he conducted in May of 2003, S.K. described the abusive nature of her relationship and forced sexual relations with Dr. Miles. Additionally, the government introduced detailed e-mail messages and chat log communications that were recovered from Dr. Miles's computer in which Dr. Miles admitted his desire to have sexual intercourse with prepubescent girls from Southeast Asia. As examples, Dr. Miles indicated that: (1) he was looking for a "little Viet princess, 8-10 or so"; (2) the "Mekong delta just seems full of 8 year olds who want to get rid of their hymens"; (3) he was "planning to come to Cambodia . . . to scout for 8 year old virgins"; (4) his "driver found [him] an 11 year old Khmer beauty who is an orphan"; (5) he was a "bona fide pedo-pervert"; and (6) he "met 13 yo . . . want divorce [from S.K.] . . . so can marry this girl . . . ." Aplee. App. at 1-2. In addition, the district court judge also considered the circumstances surrounding Dr. Miles's subsequent marriage to another teenager, after he divorced S.K. The judge concluded that Dr. Miles's "predatory conduct is not conduct from which we can be assured of any recovery, even with treatment." Transcript at 71.
During the sentencing hearing, the court concluded that the false statement for which Dr. Miles was being sentenced "arose in the context of a broader range of alleged criminal activity," namely transporting a minor in interstate commerce with the intent to engage in sexual activity with the minor, as was accomplished through a scheme of marrying S.K. and "apparently other" child brides. In the court's view, the e-mail messages and chat log communications were evidence of Dr. Miles's depraved motives to pursue arranged marriages to Asian children as a ruse for "seeking children as sexual partners." Transcript of Sentencing Hearing ("Transcript"), Aplt. App., Ex. 11, at 67-68.
In a detailed and comprehensive explanation, the court justified imposing both the maximum five-year sentence and the sex offender-related conditions on the basis that the false statement offense of which Dr. Miles had been convicted was part of a "broader pattern of criminal conduct." Based on the evidence, the court concluded that Dr. Miles was a "sexual predator," recommended to the Bureau of Prisons that Dr. Miles participate in the sex offender treatment program at FCI Butner, and ordered him to be placed on three years of supervised release to which the court attached various conditions, including that Dr. Miles (1) submit to a sex offender mental health assessment and treatment; (2) not reside where children under the age of 18 are residing without prior written permission of the probation officer; (3) not associate with children under the age of 18, except in the presence of a responsible adult who is aware of Dr. Miles's background and current offense; (4) not possess any sexually explicit material and not enter any establishment where sexually explicit material can be obtained; and (5) register as a sex offender in any state where he establishes residence, is employed, or is a student during the period of supervised release. The court further directed Dr. Miles to advise his probation officer if any state declined to permit him to register as a sex offender. Id. at 69-76.
On September 28, 2009, Dr. Miles filed Notice with the Court that, upon his release from prison, he would not be allowed to register as a sex offender in Oklahoma because the offense for which he was convicted was not a sex offense. In response, on September 30, 2009, the court issued an order stating that it would address Dr. Miles's concern if and when it became an issue, i.e., if Dr. Miles was unable to register as a sex offender when he commenced his term of supervised release.
On January 4, 2010, Dr. Miles filed the instant Appeal. Oral argument was presented before this Court on September 24, 2010.
I. BACKGROUND
In or about October of 2001, at the age of 43 years old, Dr. Miles married a 14-year old Cambodian girl, S.K., in a Cambodian wedding ceremony. In or about December of 2001, Dr. Miles transported his teenage wife from Cambodia to New York City.
On November 16, 2005, Dr. Miles was indicted for transporting S.K., at the age of 15 years, from New York City to Altus, Oklahoma, with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct ("First Indictment"). The district court dismissed the First Indictment on grounds that Dr. Miles's marriage to S.K. precluded, as a matter of law, a charge for transporting the minor for illicit sexual conduct.
On April 18, 2006, the grand jury issued another Indictment, arising from Dr. Miles's efforts to bring S.K. to the United States ("Second Indictment"). This Second Indictment charged Dr. Miles with transporting S.K. in interstate commerce with the intent to engage in acts of sexual intercourse accomplished with force and threat of force. Dr. Miles moved to dismiss the Second Indictment on double jeopardy grounds, which motion the district court denied and this Court affirmed, on June 11, 2009, in United States v. Miles, 327 F. App'x 797 (10th Cir. 2009) (unpublished). About a week after remand to the district court, the government filed a Superseding Information that charged Dr. Miles with knowingly and willfully making a false statement concerning S.K.'s age on an affidavit in support of a visa application, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(3). The parties entered into a plea agreement, whereby Dr. Miles pled guilty to the charged violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(3).
The day before the sentencing hearing, as a result of information contained in the Presentence Investigation Report, the district court entered an order directing the parties to address at the hearing whether Dr. Miles should be required to register as a sex offender. At the sentencing hearing, Special Agent Brad Thompson of the Federal Bureau of Investigations testified that, during an interview he conducted in May of 2003, S.K. described the abusive nature of her relationship and forced sexual relations with Dr. Miles. Additionally, the government introduced detailed e-mail messages and chat log communications that were recovered from Dr. Miles's computer in which Dr. Miles admitted his desire to have sexual intercourse with prepubescent girls from Southeast Asia. As examples, Dr. Miles indicated that: (1) he was looking for a "little Viet princess, 8-10 or so"; (2) the "Mekong delta just seems full of 8 year olds who want to get rid of their hymens"; (3) he was "planning to come to Cambodia . . . to scout for 8 year old virgins"; (4) his "driver found [him] an 11 year old Khmer beauty who is an orphan"; (5) he was a "bona fide pedo-pervert"; and (6) he "met 13 yo . . . want divorce [from S.K.] . . . so can marry this girl . . . ." Aplee. App. at 1-2. In addition, the district court judge also considered the circumstances surrounding Dr. Miles's subsequent marriage to another teenager, after he divorced S.K. The judge concluded that Dr. Miles's "predatory conduct is not conduct from which we can be assured of any recovery, even with treatment." Transcript at 71.
During the sentencing hearing, the court concluded that the false statement for which Dr. Miles was being sentenced "arose in the context of a broader range of alleged criminal activity," namely transporting a minor in interstate commerce with the intent to engage in sexual activity with the minor, as was accomplished through a scheme of marrying S.K. and "apparently other" child brides. In the court's view, the e-mail messages and chat log communications were evidence of Dr. Miles's depraved motives to pursue arranged marriages to Asian children as a ruse for "seeking children as sexual partners." Transcript of Sentencing Hearing ("Transcript"), Aplt. App., Ex. 11, at 67-68.
In a detailed and comprehensive explanation, the court justified imposing both the maximum five-year sentence and the sex offender-related conditions on the basis that the false statement offense of which Dr. Miles had been convicted was part of a "broader pattern of criminal conduct." Based on the evidence, the court concluded that Dr. Miles was a "sexual predator," recommended to the Bureau of Prisons that Dr. Miles participate in the sex offender treatment program at FCI Butner, and ordered him to be placed on three years of supervised release to which the court attached various conditions, including that Dr. Miles (1) submit to a sex offender mental health assessment and treatment; (2) not reside where children under the age of 18 are residing without prior written permission of the probation officer; (3) not associate with children under the age of 18, except in the presence of a responsible adult who is aware of Dr. Miles's background and current offense; (4) not possess any sexually explicit material and not enter any establishment where sexually explicit material can be obtained; and (5) register as a sex offender in any state where he establishes residence, is employed, or is a student during the period of supervised release. The court further directed Dr. Miles to advise his probation officer if any state declined to permit him to register as a sex offender. Id. at 69-76.
On September 28, 2009, Dr. Miles filed Notice with the Court that, upon his release from prison, he would not be allowed to register as a sex offender in Oklahoma because the offense for which he was convicted was not a sex offense. In response, on September 30, 2009, the court issued an order stating that it would address Dr. Miles's concern if and when it became an issue, i.e., if Dr. Miles was unable to register as a sex offender when he commenced his term of supervised release.
On January 4, 2010, Dr. Miles filed the instant Appeal. Oral argument was presented before this Court on September 24, 2010.
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