United States v. Serna

<p>In <strong>United States v. Luis Andres Serna</strong>, the <strong>Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals</strong> affirmed the lower court&#39;s decision denying the defendant a jury instruction regarding the age of his victim. Serna had argued that under <strong>18 U.S.C. § 2251(a)</strong>, the government was required to prove he knew the victim was a minor because he operated as a non-commercial producer of child pornography. However, the appellate court concluded that the <strong>statutory text</strong> contains no knowledge requirement and that the standard <strong>presumption of scienter</strong> does not apply to sex crimes against minors where the perpetrator personally confronts the victim. Furthermore, the court determined that the law applies equally to <strong>commercial and non-commercial producers</strong> due to historical amendments removing profit requirements from the statute. Consequently, the district court committed <strong>no error</strong> in rejecting the requested instruction, and Serna&#39;s conviction and sentence were upheld.</p>