United States of America v. Justin Lee Baker

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 25-1185
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United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee
v.
Justin Lee Baker
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the District of North Dakota - Eastern
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Submitted: February 5, 2026
Filed: February 11, 2026
[Unpublished]
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Before LOKEN, KELLY, and GRASZ, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Justin Baker, who was counseled below but is now proceeding pro se, appeals
after he pleaded guilty to sex abuse offenses and the district court1 sentenced him to
life in prison. On appeal, Baker challenges the sentence.
Upon careful review, we conclude that the district court did not impose a
substantively unreasonable sentence, as the court properly considered the factors
listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and did not err in weighing the relevant factors. See
United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461-62 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc) (standard
of review). While the district court’s imposition of a life sentence was a substantial
variance from the Guidelines range, we conclude that the significant upward variance
was justified in particular by the need for the sentence to reflect the seriousness of the
offense and to protect the public from further crimes, given the heinousness of
Baker’s conduct and his pattern of similar behavior. See United States v. Mangum,
625 F.3d 466, 469-70 (8th Cir. 2010); Feemster, 572 F.3d at 461-62.
Accordingly, we affirm.
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1The Honorable Peter D. Welte, Chief Judge, United States District Court for
the District of North Dakota.
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