Case: 23-20029 Document: 00516859824 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/16/2023
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit
____________ United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
No. 23-20029
FILED
August 16, 2023
Summary Calendar
____________ Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
United States of America,
Plaintiff—Appellee,
versus
Andrew Jeffrey Swope,
Defendant—Appellant.
______________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 4:20-CR-84-1
______________________________
Before Smith, Higginson, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:*
Andrew Jeffrey Swope appeals the aggregate 360-month sentence
imposed following his guilty plea convictions for two counts of sexual
exploitation of minor children, one count of distribution of child
pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography, and one count of
possession of child pornography. He argues that the sentence is substantively
_____________________
*
This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-20029 Document: 00516859824 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/16/2023
No. 23-20029
unreasonable, and our review is for abuse of discretion. See Holguin-
Hernandez v. United States, 140 S. Ct. 762, 766-67 (2020); Gall v. United
States, 552 U.S. 38, 51-52 (2007).
Swope has failed to make the showing required to rebut the
presumption of reasonableness that applies to his below-guidelines sentence.
See United States v. Simpson, 796 F.3d 548, 557-58 (5th Cir. 2015). The
district court heard all of his mitigation arguments at sentencing as well as
the Government’s arguments for a higher sentence. Ultimately, the district
court explained that its decision to vary downward to the chosen sentence
was based on the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and
characteristics of the defendant. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(1). Swope’s
arguments on appeal essentially urge us to reweigh the sentencing factors,
which we will not do. See United States v. Hernandez, 876 F.3d 161, 167 (5th
Cir. 2017).
AFFIRMED.
2