PUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 22-4322

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff – Appellee,

v.

MICHAEL SCOTT HOOVER,

Defendant – Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Statesville. Kenneth D. Bell, District Judge. (5:20-cr-00088-KDB-DSC-1)

Argued: January 24, 2024 Decided: March 12, 2024

Before WILKINSON, Circuit Judge, MOTZ, Senior Circuit Judge, and John A. GIBNEY, Jr., Senior United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting by designation.

Affirmed by published opinion. Senior Judge Motz wrote the opinion, in which Judge Wilkinson and Senior Judge Gibney joined.

ARGUED: David Q. Burgess, DAVID BURGESS LAW, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellant. Anthony J. Enright, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellee ON BRIEF: Dena J. King, United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellee. USCA4 Appeal: 22-4322 Doc: 79 Filed: 03/12/2024 Pg: 2 of 21

DIANA GRIBBON MOTZ, Senior Circuit Judge:

Michael Scott Hoover challenges his conviction and sentence for crimes related to

his production and possession of child pornography. He argues the trial court erred in

several evidentiary rulings, in denying his Rule 29 motion for judgment of acquittal, and

in instructing the jury on the elements of child pornography production. He also maintains

that the district court procedurally erred in sentencing him to 840 months’ imprisonment.

We have carefully considered these arguments and concluded that none are meritorious.

Accordingly, we affirm.

I.

In August 2019, law enforcement authorities arrested Hoover for multiple counts of

indecent liberties with a minor in violation of North Carolina law. Following his arrest,

his employer, Wells Fargo, searched his work-issued iPhone and discovered a video of a

minor boy masturbating. A North Carolina forensic investigator then searched that phone

pursuant to a search warrant and discovered three more videos and multiple pictures of

another minor boy masturbating. The investigation also uncovered web searches on

Hoover’s phone for “selfies boy masterbating [sic],” “NAMBLA [North American

Man/Boy Love Association],” and other web-search queries indicating sexual interest in

minor boys.

Investigators identified the two minors depicted in the illicit content found on

Hoover’s phone as Victim One and Victim Two, both relatives of Hoover. In June and

September 2018, when Hoover recorded the videos of Victim One, the boy was 17 years

2 USCA4 Appeal: 22-4322 Doc: 79 Filed: 03/12/2024 Pg: 3 of 21

old. In August 2019, when Hoover recorded the video of Victim Two, the boy was 12

years old. Victim Two caught Hoover recording him and asked him to delete the video,

but Hoover did not do so. Victim One did not know he was being recorded on either

occasion.

Both Victim One and Victim Two reported a long period of inappropriate comments

and sexual abuse by Hoover in the time leading up to the creation of the videos. Each

victim said that Hoover had isolated him at Hoover’s home or while on trips, and then

pressured the mino

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