In a case concerning the Vicky child pornography series, the Fourth Circuit held that a child pornography victim is entitled to restitution in an amount "only for harm that he proximately caused." On remand, if the district court determines that proximate cause is established, they will then calculate "the quantum of loss attributable to [the defendant] for his participation in Vicky's exploitation."
The victim had suggested that general cause, rather than proximate cause, is the proper structure. This, the Fourth Circuit held, "would expand the availability of restitution for even the most attenuated damages."
At sentencing, the district court had ordered restitution of $305,219.86, which represents the total amount of Vicky's loss to date that has not already been paid by other defendants.
The case is United States v. Burgess, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 14152 (4th Cir. 2012). Many circuit courts have already dealt with this issue (read more here).
You fixed the post from yesterday, but the white blocks are back on the mobile site at the bottom of the text of this article, rendering it unreadable.
ReplyDeleteSorry about that. It's an issue with every blog on Blogger, and we're having to fix each post manually until Google permanently fixes it. This one should be corrected now.
ReplyDeleteThank you for fixing it. Hopefully the development team fixes it quickly. It only started last week I believe.
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