State of New Jersey v. Michael D. Miller , 449 N.J. Super. 460 ( 2017 )


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  •                         RECORD IMPOUNDED
    NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
    APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
    SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
    APPELLATE DIVISION
    DOCKET NO. A-0459-15T4
    STATE OF NEW JERSEY,
    Plaintiff-Respondent,
    APPROVED FOR PUBLICATION
    v.                                                      April 4, 2017
    MICHAEL D. MILLER,                                    APPELLATE DIVISION
    Defendant-Appellant.
    Submitted March 15, 2017 – Decided              April 4, 2017
    Before     Judges    Fuentes,      Carroll    and    Gooden
    Brown.
    On appeal from the Superior Court of New
    Jersey,   Law  Division,   Monmouth County,
    Indictment No. 13-05-0894.
    Rudnick,   Addonizio,   Pappa   &   Casazza,
    attorneys for appellant (Mark F. Casazza, of
    counsel and on the brief).
    Christopher J. Gramiccioni, Monmouth County
    Prosecutor, attorney for respondent (Paul H.
    Heinzel, Senior Assistant Prosecutor, of
    counsel and on the brief).
    The opinion of the court was delivered by
    CARROLL, J.A.D.
    Defendant    Michael    Miller   was    charged     in   Monmouth     County
    Indictment No. 13-05-0894 with fourth-degree child endangerment
    by possessing child pornography, N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4b(5)(b) (Count
    One),   and    second-degree         child       endangerment     for    distributing
    child     pornography,         N.J.S.A.          2C:24-4b(5)(a)         (Count      Two).
    Following a bench trial, he was convicted of both charges.                              On
    August 14, 2015, defendant was sentenced to a seven-year jail
    term on Count Two, and a consecutive one-year jail term on Count
    One.    He was also required to comply with Megan's Law, N.J.S.A.
    2C:7-2,    and    to     pay   the    appropriate        fines,    penalties,          and
    assessments.       Defendant      appeals         from   his   conviction        and   the
    sentence imposed, arguing:
    POINT I
    SINCE   [DETECTIVE]   BRUCCOLIERE WAS  NOT
    OFFERED AND QUALIFIED AS AN EXPERT WITNESS
    BY THE STATE, THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN
    ADMITTING INADMISSIBLE TESTIMONY.
    POINT II
    [] DEFENDANT'S CONVICTION FOR DISTRIBUTING
    CHILD PORNOGRAPHY WAS AGAINST THE WEIGHT OF
    THE EVIDENCE.
    POINT III
    DEFENDANT'S SENTENCE WAS EXCESSIVE.
    Having considered defendant's arguments in light of the record
    and applicable legal standards, we affirm defendant's conviction
    but remand for resentencing.
    I.
    We summarize the facts taken from the record of the non-
    jury trial that was conducted on six dates between February 11,
    2                                   A-0459-15T4
    2015, and February 25, 2015.             The State presented the testimony
    of the investigating officers; a detective from the Monmouth
    County     Prosecutor's     Office       (MCPO)       who     examined       defendant's
    computer;     video    evidence        obtained       from    that        computer;      and
    defendant's statement.            Defendant testified, and presented his
    brother as a character witness.
    Freehold     Township        Police      Officer        Richard        Hudak       was
    specially assigned to the MCPO Internet Crimes Against Children
    (ICAC)     Task   Force.         The    ICAC    Task        Force    used     undercover
    computers equipped with special software to search the internet
    for persons who received or transmitted child pornography.                             That
    software allowed Hudak to log onto the peer-to-peer file sharing
    network,    "Gnutella,"      in    search      of    persons        who    shared     child
    pornography       media     files.            Hudak     entered           search      terms
    representative of child pornography and was provided with a list
    of files posted and available for download by Gnutella peers.
    His     search    results    contained         the     internet           protocol     (IP)
    addresses identifying the device of the sharing peer, as well as
    a cryptographic secure hash algorithm (SHA-1) of the file.
    On December 13, 2010, Hudak's search yielded defendant's
    internet    protocol      (IP)    address      showing        files       available      for
    download, which, based on the file names, Hudak believed to be
    child    pornography.       Three      days    later,       Hudak     downloaded       four
    3                                        A-0459-15T4
    video   files     containing         child    pornography.             The    videos     were
    placed on a compact disc (CD) and played at trial.
    On January 18, 2011, Hudak noticed defendant's IP address
    had changed, and that the shared directory contained several
    file    names    that    were       indicative      of    child       pornography.          On
    February 4, 2011, Hudak downloaded two files containing child
    pornography       from   defendant's          second      IP    address,      which      were
    placed on a CD and played at trial.
    Monmouth County Sheriff's Office Detective Timothy Baggitt
    is a certified computer forensic examiner who was also assigned
    to the ICAC Task Force.              On May 7, 2011, Baggitt downloaded four
    video files from defendant's "global unique identifier" (GUID)
    to his ICAC computer.               These videos were viewed by the court,
    and defendant stipulated that the acts they depicted met the
    statutory definition of child pornography.                            On June 1, 2011,
    Hudak learned that defendant's IP address had changed again.                                On
    that    date,    he   downloaded       three       more     files      containing        child
    pornography, which were also played at trial.
    Various law enforcement officials responded to defendant's
    residence    to    execute      a    search       warrant      on    February       1,   2012.
    Thirty-three       CDs   and    DVDs     were       seized,         along    with    several
    computers,       including      an    Acer    Aspire        4315      laptop,   and      hard
    drives.         Defendant    was      taken       into    custody      and    brought       to
    4                                      A-0459-15T4
    Keansburg    police   headquarters,       where   he   waived   his    Miranda¹
    rights.     He then gave a recorded statement admitting he lived
    alone in the house the past two years and that he had downloaded
    child pornography onto his laptop computer.               He also admitted
    using     LimeWire    and   then   FrostWire      peer-to-peer        programs.
    Defendant described his knowledge of peer-to-peer file sharing
    during the following questioning by MCPO Lieutenant William Wei:
    WEI:   You  have  FrostWire.      You  have
    downloaded those images.     You're running
    FrostWire, you download images, what makes
    you think other people can't download it
    from you?
    DEFENDANT: I just never . . . thought about
    it.    Obviously, they can.    [] [Y]ou're
    absolutely right.   Honestly, I just never
    thought about it.
    . . . .
    WEI: [] So Mike, you told me that you . . .
    didn't think possession of child pornography
    is   illegal,   but   you    told    me   that
    distribution   is.     So   by    you   merely
    downloading this and saving it into your
    library, and you do see the meters of the
    green uploading, what is that telling me?
    DEFENDANT: I understand what you're saying.
    Obvious - - I - -
    WEI:   Do you dispute that you made these
    videos shareable to other people using
    FrostWire?
    ¹
    Miranda v. Arizona, 
    384 U.S. 436
    , 
    86 S. Ct. 1602
    , 
    16 L. Ed. 2d 694
     (1966).
    5                                A-0459-15T4
    DEFENDANT:   No.   But obviously, it was in
    the . . . library, it was available.
    WEI:   Okay.   And you knew that . . . that
    library where the images or the videos were
    was shareable?
    DEFENDANT:    Yes.
    WEI:    All right.    And you knew that why?
    DEFENDANT:    []      [T]hat's        how    peer-to-peer
    works, I guess?
    WEI: That's exactly how it works, but also,
    you saw the meters, you saw the thing
    that's, you know, sharing that you were
    uploading.
    DEFENDANT:    Okay.
    MCPO Detective Richard Bruccoliere performed the forensic
    analysis of the Acer laptop computer and other seized items.
    Bruccoliere     was    assigned     to   the   MCPO's      Computer     Crimes      Unit
    since December 2009, and previously worked for the United States
    Secret Service, where he conducted computer and digital media
    forensic investigations.            He was a certified forensic computer
    examiner who had undergone approximately 700 hours of classroom
    training      and    performed     hundreds      of       forensic    examinations.
    Bruccoliere's        forensic    analysis      of     defendant's      Acer    laptop
    revealed   defendant       had    downloaded     631      still   images      and    353
    videos   of    child    pornography.           Additionally,         eleven   of     the
    thirty-three seized CDs and DVDs contained child pornographic
    images and videos.
    6                                   A-0459-15T4
    When Bruccoliere testified how peer-to-peer file sharing
    worked, defense counsel objected on the basis that the State had
    not offered or qualified him as an expert witness.                           The judge
    noted     that     defendant      admitted      in     his     statement      that    he
    understood        how    peer-to-peer    file        sharing    worked.        Defense
    counsel    also     objected      to   Bruccoliere's         testimony       about   the
    organization of the files, folders, and sub-folders found on the
    Acer laptop computer, the labeling of the CDs and DVDs, and
    Bruccoliere's testimony about a screen capture of defendant's
    computer.        The judge cited State v. Doriguzzi, 
    334 N.J. Super. 530
    , 534 (App. Div. 2000), for the proposition that "computers
    and their functioning as no longer topics that are so esoteric
    as beyond the ken of the average person."                       The judge further
    found that Bruccoliere testified as a fact witness concerning
    the     process     by    which   he    examined       defendant's      Acer    laptop
    computer, and admitted the challenged testimony.
    After the State rested, the trial court denied defendant's
    motion for a judgment of acquittal.                    R. 3:18-1.         Defendant's
    brother,    a     retired   police     officer,       testified    as    a   character
    witness and described defendant's reputation in the community as
    "upstanding, hardworking, and he has good moral character."
    Defendant testified he lacked "any in-depth knowledge of
    computers."        He stated he had a "very basic knowledge" of peer-
    7                                    A-0459-15T4
    to-peer file sharing and "knew it was possible" that downloaded
    child      pornography       could   be    distributed       to     someone         else.
    However, he later testified he was not aware of the possibility
    of distributing child pornography through his computer, and that
    it was never his intention to do so.                     He acknowledged having
    told    the   police    he    "downloaded      tons    of   pornography"        on    his
    laptop, and stated his purpose in doing so was to view it for
    his own sexual gratification.
    At the conclusion of the trial, the judge found that Hudak,
    Baggitt,      and      Bruccoliere        "were       competent     and        credible
    witnesses."      He noted that defendant's "computer had peer-to-
    peer    file-sharing         programs      installed"       on     it,        and    that
    Bruccoliere "testified credibly from his operation and viewing
    of   the    computer     that   these     were    programs       used    to    download
    pornography during the relevant times."                 The judge recounted the
    explicit nature of the sexual acts and the young ages of the
    children depicted in the videos that were played in court and
    concluded "there's no question that this is child pornography."
    In contrast to the State's witnesses, the judge determined:
    "I do not find [defendant] credible.                   I find him not credible
    when he testified that he didn't really consider that others
    would obtain the child pornography files from him by way of the
    [] peer-to-peer network, the same way that he obtained it from
    8                                    A-0459-15T4
    others.     I think he did."        The judge found defendant "knowingly
    use[d]     a     peer-to-peer       system       [to]     search[]        for        child
    pornography, and he downloaded it to his computer during the
    relevant times as alleged. . . .               And [] defendant maintained []
    some of them[] in his computer in the peer-to-peer system."
    Ultimately, the judge concluded that defendant "understood how
    peer-to-peer      worked    and   that   if     [the    child    pornography]         was
    available to him, it was available from him through the peer-to-
    peer system and through his computer."                   Based upon the judge's
    analysis of the trial proofs, he found defendant guilty of both
    charges.       This appeal followed.
    II.
    A.
    Defendant       first    argues      that    the     trial    court     erred      in
    allowing Detective Bruccoliere to provide expert testimony at
    trial without having been offered or qualified as an expert in
    computer forensics.         We disagree.
    We     begin     by    noting    that       our    standard     of    review       on
    evidentiary rulings is abuse of discretion.                       We only reverse
    those     that    "undermine      confidence      in     the     validity       of    the
    conviction or misapply the law[.]"                    State v. Weaver, 
    219 N.J. 131
    , 149 (2014); See also State v. J.A.C., 
    210 N.J. 281
    , 295
    (2012).    Simply stated, we do "not substitute [our] own judgment
    9                                     A-0459-15T4
    for that of the trial court, unless the trial court's ruling is
    so wide of the mark that a manifest denial of justice resulted."
    J.A.C., supra, 
    210 N.J. at 295
    .
    Witnesses, including police officers, testify in a variety
    of roles.     A fact witness is one who testifies as to what "he or
    she perceived through one or more of the senses."                           State v.
    McLean, 
    205 N.J. 438
    , 460 (2011).                "Fact testimony has always
    consisted of a description of what the officer did and saw[.]"
    
    Ibid.
          "Testimony    of   that    type    includes    no     opinion,     lay    or
    expert, and does not convey information about what the officer
    'believed,' 'thought' or 'suspected,' but instead is an ordinary
    fact-based recitation by a witness with first-hand knowledge."
    
    Ibid.
     (citations omitted).
    Expert     witnesses,      however,      "explain     the    implications        of
    observed     behaviors    that       would    otherwise       fall     outside      the
    understanding of ordinary people on the jury."                    
    Ibid.
           "Expert
    testimony is admissible '[i]f scientific, technical, or other
    specialized     knowledge      will     assist    the     trier        of    fact    to
    understand    the   evidence     or    to    determine    a     fact   in    issue.'"
    State v. Simms, 
    224 N.J. 393
    , 403 (2016) (quoting N.J.R.E. 702);
    see also State v. Cain, 
    224 N.J. 410
    , 420 (2016).                           "In other
    words, to be admissible, expert testimony should 'relate[] to a
    relevant subject that is beyond the understanding of the average
    10                                    A-0459-15T4
    person     of    ordinary     experience,      education,    and     knowledge.'"
    State v. Sowell, 
    213 N.J. 89
    , 99 (2013) (alteration in original)
    (quoting State v. Odom, 
    116 N.J. 65
    , 71 (1989)).                   If the matter
    is "within the competence of the jury, expert testimony is not
    needed."       
    Ibid.
    Lay opinion testimony is governed by N.J.R.E. 701, which
    permits    a    witness     not   testifying     as   an    expert    to    provide
    "testimony in the form of opinions or inferences . . . if it (a)
    is rationally based on the perception of the witness and (b)
    will    assist    in   understanding       the   witness'    testimony       or    in
    determining a fact in issue."              Mclean, supra, 
    205 N.J. at 456
    .
    "Courts in New Jersey have permitted police officers to testify
    as lay witnesses, based on their personal observations and their
    long experience in areas where expert testimony might otherwise
    be deemed necessary."             State v. LaBrutto, 
    114 N.J. 187
    , 198
    (1989).
    Here, Bruccoliere did not testify as an expert or provide
    an expert opinion.          Rather, he testified as a fact witness about
    his    forensic    investigation     of    defendant's     laptop,    and    merely
    reported what he found, including the presence of videos and
    images depicting child pornography, and peer-to-peer software
    that allowed others to access the child pornography.
    11                                A-0459-15T4
    Even if Bruccoliere's testimony fell within the scope of
    the expert opinion rule because it was specialized knowledge
    based on his training and experience, we find any error in its
    admission    to   be    harmless.         R.    2:10-2.        It   is        clear    from
    Bruccoliere's testimony that he possessed sufficient education,
    training, and experience to qualify as an expert in the field of
    computer    forensics.          Where     a     witness    possesses          sufficient
    qualifications to have testified as an expert, any error in
    allowing    the   lay   opinion     may    be    deemed    harmless.            State    v.
    Kittrell, 
    279 N.J. Super. 225
    , 236 (App. Div. 1995).                            Here, as
    the trial judge aptly noted, although the State did not identify
    Bruccoliere as an expert, it provided the defense with his name,
    address, curriculum vitae setting forth his qualifications, and
    his forensic report.            Accordingly, defendant was not surprised
    or prejudiced by Bruccoliere's testimony, and the trial judge
    did not abuse his discretion in admitting it.
    B.
    Defendant      next    argues    that       his   conviction         on    Count    Two
    charging    endangering     the    welfare       of   a   child     by    distributing
    child   pornography       was    against       the    weight   of    the       evidence.
    Specifically, he contends that he simply possessed the child
    pornography for private and personal use, and that there is
    12                                     A-0459-15T4
    insufficient evidence in the record that he received it with the
    purpose of distributing it, or that he did so knowingly.
    Our    review      of    a    judge's    verdict       in    a    non-jury     case    is
    limited.      The standard is not whether the verdict was against
    the   weight       of    the    evidence,        but    rather         "whether    there     is
    sufficient     credible         evidence       in      the   record      to   support       the
    judge's determination."               State ex rel. R.V., 
    280 N.J. Super. 118
    , 121 (App. Div. 1995).                 Moreover, we are obliged to "give
    deference     to     those      findings       of      the   trial       judge    which     are
    substantially influenced by [the] opportunity to hear and see
    the   witnesses         and    to   have   the      'feel'    of   the     case,     which    a
    reviewing court cannot enjoy."                   State v. Locurto, 
    157 N.J. 463
    ,
    471 (1999) (quoting State v. Johnson, 
    42 N.J. 146
    , 161 (1964)).
    "[T]he factual findings of the trial court are binding on
    appeal      when     supported        by      adequate,       substantial,         credible
    evidence."         State ex rel. W.M., 
    364 N.J. Super. 155
    , 165 (App.
    Div. 2003).        "[W]e do not disturb the factual findings and legal
    conclusions of the trial judge unless we are convinced that they
    are   so    manifestly         unsupported         by   or   inconsistent          with     the
    competent,     relevant         and    reasonably        credible         evidence     as    to
    offend the interests of justice[.]"                      Rova Farms Resort, Inc. v.
    Investors Ins. Co. of Am., 
    65 N.J. 474
    , 484 (1974) (quoting
    Fagliarone v. Twp. of N. Bergen, 
    78 N.J. Super. 154
    , 155 (App.
    13                                     A-0459-15T4
    Div.), certif. denied, 
    40 N.J. 221
     (1963)).                 Applying these
    standards, we discern no basis for interfering with the judge's
    well-developed findings, conclusions, and disposition on these
    charges.
    At     the   time   of   the   crimes   charged   in   the   indictment,
    N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4b(5)(a) provided:
    Any person who knowingly receives for the
    purpose of selling or who knowingly sells,
    procures,   manufactures,  gives,   provides,
    lends, trades, mails, delivers, transfers,
    publishes,      distributes,      circulates,
    disseminates,       presents,       exhibits,
    advertises, offers or agrees to offer,
    through any means, including the Internet,
    any photograph, film, videotape, computer
    program or file, video game or any other
    reproduction or reconstruction which depicts
    a child engaging in a prohibited sexual act
    or in the simulation of such an act, is
    guilty of a crime of the second degree.²
    In State v. Lyons, 
    417 N.J. Super. 251
    , 253 (App. Div.
    2010), we examined the State's challenge to an order granting
    the defendant's motion to dismiss an indictment charging him
    "with possessing, offering and distributing child pornography by
    use of a peer-to-peer file sharing network on the internet."
    The trial judge found the State's evidence did not include proof
    ²
    The statute has since been amended by P.L. 2013, c. 136, to
    clarify that the knowing storage or maintenance of child
    pornography using a file sharing program does not require proof
    that the defendant intended to share images or videos of child
    pornography over the peer-to-peer network.
    14                            A-0459-15T4
    the defendant intended to transfer or distribute the images with
    peers       on    the    Gnutella       network       through   his    LimeWire     shared
    folder.          
    Id. at 253-54
    .         The trial judge concluded that although
    the   defendant          knew    the    shared       child   pornography    files       "were
    accessible to others over the Internet by virtue of being in
    such a folder, [his] passive conduct could not be sufficient to
    constitute distributing or offering the materials" as used in
    N.J.S.A.         2C:24-4b(5)(a).             
    Ibid.
          We   disagreed,    
    id. at 257
    ,
    stating "[i]n the context of this statute, these terms commonly
    mean the act by which one person makes known to another that he
    or    she    may       have     for    the    taking    an   item     possessed    by     the
    offeror."          
    Id. at 260
    .         Further, we considered the terms in the
    statute in light of the legislative initiatives, concluding
    the terms should be construed very broadly.
    The evidence of what [the] defendant did,
    while knowing what he knew, is the kind of
    conduct targeted by these enactments.  [The
    d]efendant used the modern technology of
    computers and the Internet, with a file
    sharing network, to provide and offer child
    pornography he possessed in his shared
    folder.
    [Id. at 262.]
    Lyons       makes       clear,     under      N.J.S.A.    2C:24-4b(5)(a),          the
    State's burden is to prove an offer was made; it need not show
    actual access to a defendant's shared files occurred.                               
    Id. at 260-63
    .           In    this    matter,      relying    on   Lyons,    
    supra,
         
    417 N.J. 15
                                     A-0459-15T4
    Super. at 267-69, the trial judge found that "placing such child
    pornography in a file, [] in a searchable, accessible, shared
    folder is an offer to distribute such over the file-sharing
    network, and a fact finder . . . could reasonably infer that []
    defendant     knew       that    he    was     sharing     his    downloaded        child
    pornography files."             The judge found it "inescapable that []
    defendant would have known . . . [t]hat in his files, in his
    default shared folders, with his having downloaded the peer-to-
    peer     system,     that       it     was     available     to     other       people."
    Accordingly,       the    State's      evidence      sufficiently     supported       the
    offense charged as defendant acted to "offer" his downloaded
    child pornographic images and videos by making them available
    through peer-to-peer file sharing, thereby allowing others on
    the network to access and copy them.
    C.
    Defendant's final arguments relate to his sentence.                             He
    contends that, because the judge failed to merge the possession
    charge    with     the    distribution         charge,     failed    to     apply     the
    appropriate      aggravating          and    mitigating    factors,       and   imposed
    consecutive prison terms, the resulting sentence was excessive.
    We agree, and remand for the court to merge the two offenses and
    re-sentence      defendant        without         consideration     of    aggravating
    factor one, N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(a)(1).
    16                                 A-0459-15T4
    At      defendant's          sentencing      hearing,      the       court      found
    aggravating factors one, the nature and circumstances of the
    offense; two, the gravity of harm to the victim (N.J.S.A. 2C:44-
    1(a)(2)); three, the risk defendant will commit another offense
    (N.J.S.A.    2C:44-1(a)(3));         and    nine,    the    need     for   deterrence
    (N.J.S.A.    2C:44-1(a)(9)).           The      court   also    found      mitigating
    factor   seven,      no    prior     criminal       history     (N.J.S.A.         2C:44-
    1(b)(7)).
    With      respect       to     aggravating       factor     one,       the      judge
    elaborated:    "These      are     numerous,     numerous      children,     infants,
    very young children in these cases who are portrayed.                        Not just
    portrayed, they were photographed.                  They were caused to engage
    in these sexual activities . . . .               [T]hey were all quite young,
    quite, quite young."          The judge then went on to carefully, and
    correctly, analyze and apply each of the remaining aggravating
    and mitigating factors advanced by the parties.
    We      review        sentencing       determinations          for     abuse        of
    discretion.    State v. Robinson, 
    217 N.J. 594
    , 603 (2014) (citing
    State v. Roth, 
    95 N.J. 334
    , 364-65 (1984)).                    For each degree of
    crime,   N.J.S.A.     2C:43-6(a)       sets     forth   "sentences         within      the
    maximum and minimum range[.]"              Roth, 
    supra,
     
    95 N.J. at 359
    .                The
    sentencing court must "undertake[] an examination and weighing
    of the aggravating and mitigating factors listed in [N.J.S.A.]
    17                                    A-0459-15T4
    2C:44-1(a) and (b)."            Ibid.; State v. Kruse, 
    105 N.J. 354
    , 359
    (1987).     "'[W]hen the mitigating factors preponderate, sentences
    will   tend     toward    the    lower    end    of     the   range,    and    when    the
    aggravating factors preponderate, sentences will tend toward the
    higher end of the range.'"                State v. Fuentes, 
    217 N.J. 57
    , 73
    (2014) (quoting State v. Natale, 
    184 N.J. 458
    , 488 (2005)).
    Furthermore,       "[e]ach      factor    found    by    the    trial   court     to    be
    relevant must be supported by 'competent, reasonably credible
    evidence'" in the record.                Id. at 72 (quoting Roth, 
    supra,
     
    95 N.J. at 363
    ).
    We       accord     deference        to         the     sentencing        court's
    determination.         Fuentes, supra, 217 N.J. at 70 (citing State v.
    O'Donnell,       
    117 N.J. 210
    ,     215     (1989)).        We     must     affirm
    defendant's sentence unless
    (1) the sentencing guidelines were violated;
    (2) the aggravating and mitigating factors
    found by the sentencing court were not based
    upon competent and credible evidence in the
    record; or (3) "the application of the
    guidelines to the facts of [the] case makes
    the sentence clearly unreasonable so as to
    shock the judicial conscience."
    [Ibid. (quoting Roth, supra, 
    95 N.J. at
    364-
    65).]
    We will remand for resentencing if the sentencing court fails to
    provide     a    qualitative      analysis        of    the    relevant       sentencing
    factors, 
    ibid.
     (citing Kruse, 
    supra,
     
    105 N.J. at 363
    ), or if it
    18                                   A-0459-15T4
    considers an inappropriate aggravating factor.                        
    Ibid.
     (citing
    State v. Pineda, 
    119 N.J. 621
    , 628 (1990)).
    Aggravating      factor    one    requires      consideration         of    "[t]he
    nature and circumstances of the offense, and the role of the
    actor therein, including whether or not it was committed in an
    especially      heinous,       cruel,   or    depraved     manner[.]"         N.J.S.A.
    2C:44-1(a)(1).         When assessing whether this factor applies, "the
    sentencing court reviews the severity of the defendant's crime,
    'the single most important factor in the sentencing process,'
    assessing the degree to which defendant's conduct has threatened
    the safety of its direct victims and the public."                             State v.
    Lawless, 
    214 N.J. 594
    , 609 (2013) (quoting State v. Hodge, 
    95 N.J. 369
    ,    378-79     (1984)).           The    court    may     also    consider
    "'aggravating      facts       showing       that    [a]     defendant's      behavior
    extended to the extreme reaches of the prohibited behavior.'"
    Fuentes, supra, 217 N.J. at 75 (quoting State v. Henry, 
    418 N.J. Super. 481
    , 493 (Law Div. 2010)).                    In determining whether a
    defendant's      conduct        was     "'especially         heinous,     cruel,         or
    depraved,' a sentencing court must scrupulously avoid 'double-
    counting'      facts    that    establish      the   elements    of     the   relevant
    offense."      Id. at 74-75; see also State v. Yarbough, 
    100 N.J. 627
    , 645 (1985).
    19                                      A-0459-15T4
    We conclude that, in applying aggravating factor one, the
    court engaged in impermissible double-counting.                  By its nature,
    child pornography inherently is especially heinous, cruel and
    depraved, and defendant's possession and distribution of it in
    this case was no different.              Since the court erred in finding
    aggravating      factor     one,   we     remand      for   reconsideration      of
    defendant's sentence in the absence of that aggravating factor.
    Turning to the merger issue, the doctrine of merger is
    based on the well-established concept that "an accused [who]
    committed only one offense . . . cannot be punished as if for
    two."    State v. Davis, 
    68 N.J. 69
    , 77 (1975).                  "When the same
    conduct of a defendant may establish the commission of more than
    one   offense,    the   defendant       may   be    prosecuted   for   each    such
    offense."      N.J.S.A. 2C:1-8a.         However, merger is required when
    one offense is a lesser-included offense of another and "[i]t is
    established by proof of the same or less than all the facts
    required to establish the commission of the offense charged."
    N.J.S.A. 2C:1-8d.
    The standard for merger of offenses as required by N.J.S.A.
    2C:1-8   has     been     characterized       as    "mechanical."      State     v.
    Truglia, 
    97 N.J. 513
    , 520 (1984).                  Consequently, courts are to
    apply the standard articulated in Davis as the "preferred and
    20                              A-0459-15T4
    more    flexible    standard."       State   v.   Diaz,    
    144 N.J. 628
    ,   637
    (1996).    It requires
    analysis of the evidence in terms of, among
    other things, the time and place of each
    purported   violation;  whether  the  proof
    submitted as to one count of the indictment
    would be a necessary ingredient to a
    conviction under another count; whether one
    act was an integral part of a larger scheme
    or episode; the intent of the accused; and
    the consequences of the criminal standards
    transgressed.
    [Davis, supra, 
    68 N.J. at 81
    .]
    Applying these well-settled standards, we conclude that,
    under the specific facts presented, defendant's convictions for
    fourth-degree possession of child pornography and second-degree
    distribution of child pornography merge.               Here, the crimes were
    reasonably proximate in time and place, and defendant's use of
    the     file    sharing   programs    was    a    necessary      ingredient      and
    integral part of both his possession of the child pornography
    and the means by which he made it accessible to others.
    Defendant's    conviction     is   affirmed.        We    remand   for    the
    court     to     resentence      defendant       without    consideration         of
    aggravating factor one, and to merge Count One with Count Two.
    21                                  A-0459-15T4