United States of America v. Miesha Lasha Stanley

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
___________________________
No. 24-1915
___________________________
United States of America
Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
Miesha Lasha Stanley
Defendant - Appellant
____________
Appeal from United States District Court
for the Southern District of Iowa - Eastern
____________
Submitted: June 9, 2025
Filed: July 21, 2025
[Unpublished]
____________
Before LOKEN, ERICKSON, and KOBES, Circuit Judges.
____________
PER CURIAM.
Miesha Stanley appeals the sentence imposed by the district court1 after she
pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§ 1594(c); sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion in violation of 18 U.S.C.
1 The Honorable Stephen H. Locher, United States District Judge for the
Southern District of Iowa.

-- 1 of 2 --

-2-
§§ 1591(a)(1) and (b)(1); and attempted sex trafficking of a child in violation of 18
U.S.C. §§ 1594(a), 1591(a)(1) and (b)(2). The district court sentenced her to a
within-Guidelines term of imprisonment of 360 months. Stanley asserts the district
court erred in rejecting her request for a downward variance.
We review the substantive reasonableness of a sentence under the deferential
abuse of discretion standard. United States v. DaCruz-Mendes, 970 F.3d 904, 909
(8th Cir. 2020). A sentence within the advisory range of the Guidelines is presumed
reasonable. Id. at 910.
Stanley asserts that the combined offense enhancement of four levels under
USSG § 3D1.4 is excessive and resulted in a punishment greater than necessary. We
give district courts wide latitude when considering a request for a downward
variance and the relevant sentencing factors. United States v. Seys, 27 F.4th 606,
612 (8th Cir. 2022). In her written plea agreement, Stanley admitted to sex
trafficking four individuals. The district court found Stanley’s practice of preying
on the vulnerable and coercing them with threats and violence to be incredibly
serious conduct. The district court thoroughly explained its consideration of the 18
U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors and why the four-level enhancement was appropriate.
Stanley also asserts the district court failed to properly weigh her mental
health diagnoses. The record reflects the district court considered her mental health
but disagreed with Stanley regarding the weight to give that factor. See DaCruz-
Mendes, 970 F.3d at 910 (a sentence is not substantively unreasonable because the
district court gave a factor less weight than the defendant thought it deserved). We
conclude the bottom-of-the-Guidelines sentence of 360 months is not substantively
unreasonable.
The judgment of the district court is affirmed.
______________________________

-- 2 of 2 --