No. 23-2901 ___________________________

United States of America

Plaintiff - Appellee

v.

Anthony Lemicy

Defendant - Appellant ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis ____________

Submitted: September 26, 2024 Filed: November 26, 2024 ____________ Before SMITH, ERICKSON, and STRAS, Circuit Judges. ____________ ERICKSON, Circuit Judge.

A jury convicted Anthony Lemicy on four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a), (e). The district court 1 sentenced him to consecutive terms of 30 years’ imprisonment on each count for a total sentence of

1 The Honorable Henry E. Autrey, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division. 120 years. On appeal, Lemicy raises a number of claims, including: (A) he did not knowingly and voluntarily waive his right to counsel; (B) his constitutional right to a fair trial was violated when he appeared at trial in an orange jumpsuit and restraints; (C) the jury instructions failed to properly define “use” of a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct under 18 U.S.C. § 2251; (D) the evidence was insufficient to sustain the convictions; (E) the district court improperly calculated his criminal history points by counting “related” state convictions; and (F) the district court imposed a substantively unreasonable sentence. We affirm. I. BACKGROUND

On July 25, 2019, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to two 911 calls regarding a disturbance at Lemicy’s apartment. One call was made by Lemicy who reported that he was being falsely accused of molesting children. The second call came from an adult female who was accusing Lemicy of sexual assault of minors. Upon arrival, officers observed several children playing in the front yard and encountered the female 911 caller on the front porch of Lemicy’s residence. While talking to the female, one of the officers noticed Lemicy inside the residence at the top of the stairs leading to the second floor. One officer remained with the female while the other officer went up the stairs to talk to Lemicy. The adult female reported to law enforcement that Lemicy had sexual contact with several minor girls, including her daughter, while they were in Lemicy’s care for the last several days. When the officer spoke to the girls individually, three of them reported that Lemicy had walked around in his underwear and had shown them his penis or touched them with his penis. Another girl disclosed that Lemicy had shown her a video of Lemicy with his mouth on her vagina while she was asleep. One of the girls also reported that Lemicy had taken pictures of her while she was in the shower with another girl.

Law enforcement transported Lemicy to the police department for further investigation. During a recorded interview, Lemicy confirmed that beginning on July 17, 2019, he had been babysitting between 6 to 8 children (4 girls and 4 boys) -2- between the ages of 5 and 11. He denied the allegations of sexual misconduct and suggested he was being falsely accused by the 911 caller because she thought he allowed her daughter to be bullied by the other kids. Lemicy gave consent to law enforcement to look at his cellphone and he was released from custody pending further investigation.

The four girls were subsequently interviewed at the children’s advocacy center where they disclosed additional