UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JONATHON CHASE VOWELS-HARPER - Articles

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JONATHON CHASE VOWELS-HARPER

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Nov 25, 2025

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ARGUED: Michael R. Mazzoli, COX & MAZZOLI PLLC, Louisville, Kentucky, for Appellant.

Attorneys 2: ARGUED: Amanda E. Gregory, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Louisville, Kentucky, for Appellee.

Attorneys 3: ON BRIEF: Michael R. Mazzoli, COX & MAZZOLI PLLC, Louisville, Kentucky, for Appellant.

Attorneys 4: Amanda E. Gregory, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Louisville, Kentucky, for Appellee.

Judge(s): CLAY, GILMAN, and BLOOMEKATZ, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky at Louisville

BLOOMEKATZ, Circuit Judge. Jonathon Chase Vowels-Harper was a young adult when he met a minor girl on social media. The two began to exchange casual text messages, but their conversations soon turned sexual. Vowels-Harper asked the minor to send him sexually explicit photos and videos of herself, and she did. He later pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography based on that conduct. At sentencing, the district court applied a four-level enhancement on the ground that one of the videos of the minor depicted “sadistic” conduct. Vowels-Harper argues that the court applied the wrong standard in evaluating the video for the sadism enhancement. We agree, so we vacate his sentence and remand for resentencing under the proper standard.

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