Two child-exploitation convictions survive First Circuit appeal

The First Circuit left Rayevon Deschambault’s two convictions for sexual exploitation of a minor under 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a), the federal child-sexual-exploitation statute, in place, along with his 216-month prison term and ten years of supervised release from the District of Maine. The panel said jurors may find the required purpose to produce a visual depiction even if that purpose was formed during the sex act, not only before it.

The case grew out of an iPhone search tied to a drug-trafficking warrant, where police found two videos of Deschambault having sex with a minor. Those recordings became the core of the government’s proof at trial, and the jury returned guilty verdicts on both counts.

The objection that never landed

Deschambault also tried to attack the jury instructions on appeal, but the First Circuit said that argument was waived. During the charge discussion, defense counsel responded, “Perfect. Thank you very much.” The court treated that as agreement, not a preserved objection.

That mattered because waiver leaves nothing for an appellate court to correct. Once the panel concluded the defense had accepted the instruction, the challenge to the wording was gone before the judges ever had to decide whether the instruction was wrong.

What prosecutors can take from it

The ruling strengthens the government’s hand in First Circuit child-exploitation cases by making clear that the intent element in § 2251(a) does not have to preexist the act itself. A jury can infer the purpose from the conduct and the surrounding evidence, even if the camera was not the defendant’s first thought.

It also sends a practical warning to defense lawyers at trial. A quick nod at the charge conference can be enough to forfeit a later fight over how the jury was instructed.