US v. Cammorto: Cammorto pleaded guilty to violating SORNA by failing to register as a sex offender in Virginia. At sentencing, the district court concluded he was a Tier III offender (the most serious classification under SORNA) and, consequently, that his advisory Guideline range was 33-41 months. At issue was Cammorto's prior conviction in Georgia for rape - he argued that he was convicted only of aiding and abetting and, therefore, should be only a Tier I offender. The court disagreed and imposed a sentence of 41 months in prison.
On appeal, the Fourth Circuit affirmed Cammorto's sentence. Cammorto argued that because Georgia law allowed a person "who never even touched the victim" to be convicted of rape as an aider and abetter, that offense was broader than the federal offense of aggravated sexual abuse and, therefore, could not count as a Tier III offense. Applying the categorical approach, the court concluded that it was "readily apparent . . . that the Georgia rape statute is narrower than the federal offense." That the a person can be convicted as a principal under Georgia law as an aider and abetter was irrelevant because "under federal law, aiders and abetters are also treated as principals." The court also rejected Cammorto's argument (raised for the first time at oral argument) that Georgia's aiding and abetting standard is broader than the federal one.
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