USA v. Gray Rivera
Split Score
What is a Split Score?
This score (0-100) indicates how likely this case is to be reviewed by the Supreme Court based on:
Case Summary
Disposition
Affirmed
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Gray Edward Rivera’s convictions for producing and attempting to produce child-pornography images of his girlfriend’s minor daughter. The panel held that a single stricken statement from a Rule 414 witness did not prejudice the trial, the district court correctly limited and instructed on the testimony, and—under Eleventh-Circuit precedent—a reasonable jury could find that Rivera’s surreptitious nude recordings constituted a lascivious exhibition under 18 U.S.C. § 2256.
Circuit Split Identified
Legal Issue
Whether a surreptitious video of a minor engaged in seemingly innocent activity (e.g., dressing) can qualify as a "lascivious exhibition" under 18 U.S.C. §2256(2)(A)(v) based on the producer’s intent, even when the recording does not overtly depict sexual acts.
Circuit Positions
Producer-intent test: a depiction is lascivious if created to arouse sexual desire, even when the child’s conduct is facially innocuous.
Objective depiction test: image must show the genitals or pubic area in a lustful manner that suggests an actual sexual act; intent alone is insufficient.
Conflict Summary
The Eleventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits hold that the focus is on the producer’s intent; clandestine recordings that draw attention to a child’s pubic area may be lascivious even if the child behaves innocently. The D.C. Circuit (Hillie) requires that the depiction itself display the minor’s genitals in a lustful manner that objectively connotes a sexual act, rejecting intent-only analysis.