In U.S. v. Acosta, No. 04-16480 (Aug. 24, 2005), the Court (Birch, Barkett, Wilson) held that the government satisfied the interstate jurisdictional requirement of the statute which criminalizes receipt of child pornography, and affirmed the district court’s denial of Acosta’s motion for judgment of acquittal.
After Acosta agreed by email to purchase a videotape containing child pornography, an undercover agent sent a videotape by registered mail to a post inspector in Miami. This inspector, in turn, packaged it as an express mail package to simulate its condition as if it were an actual package mailed from out of state, and then, dressed as a mail letter carrier, personally delivered the package to Acosta, who signed for the package.
The Court held that these facts established that the videotape was "mailed, shipped or transported in interstate commerce, by any means," in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2252(A)(a)(%)(B) and (b)(2). The Court noted the "by any means" portion of the statute, and noted that this foreclosed Acosta’s argument that the evidence was insufficient because the case did not involve an "actual post office," or an "actual mailman."
