Frederick and Carey Gonzales Plead Guilty to Federal Child Pornography Charges

ALBUQUERQUE – Frederick Gonzales, 42, and his wife Carey Gonzales, 36, both of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning to federal child pornography charges announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales, New Mexico Attorney General Gary K. King, Carol K.O. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, and Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston.

Frederick and Carey Gonzales were arrested on state child pornography charges on Jan. 11, 2013.  At that time, Frederick Gonzales was the incoming president of Albuquerque’s Young America Football League (YAFL), and Carey Gonzales was employed as a kindergarten teacher’s aide by the Albuquerque Public Schools (APS).  Shortly thereafter, the YAFL removed Frederick Gonzales from his position with the organization and APS fired Carey Gonzales.  The couple subsequently was arrested on criminal complaints alleging federal child pornography charges on Jan. 18, 2013, by members of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

Frederick and Carey Gonzales were indicted on Feb. 6, 2013.  The six-count indictment charged Frederick Gonzales with three counts of receipt of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and two counts of possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  According to the indictment, Frederick Gonzales committed these offenses in Bernalillo County between July 2012 and Jan. 2013.  The indictment charged Carey Gonzales with one count of possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and alleged that she committed the offense in Bernalillo County in Jan. 2013.

Court filings reflect that the charges against Frederick and Carey Gonzales were the result of an undercover investigation that was initiated by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office in Sept. 2012, and identified an IP Address subscribed to Frederick Gonzales as one that was used to possess, receive and distribute child pornography.  As a result of the investigation,  on Jan. 11, 2013, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at the Gonzales residence and seized computers and computer-related media that contained videos and images consistent with child pornography. 

This morning, Frederick Gonzales entered a guilty plea to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with receipt of child pornography.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, he will be sentenced to 97 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the Court.  Gonzales also will be required register as a sex offender.  In entering his guilty plea, Frederick Gonzales admitted that, on Jan. 11, 2013, he voluntarily participated in a recorded interview during which he admitted watching child pornography videos.  He also admitted that he had been downloading child pornography videos using a file-sharing program for approximately six months.

Carey Gonzales entered a guilty plea to Count 6 of the indictment charging her with possession of child pornography.  Under the terms of her plea agreement, Carey Gonzales will be sentenced to 36 months in federal prison followed by 20 years of supervised release.  She also will be required to register as a sex offender.  During her plea hearing, Carey Gonzales admitted that she too participated in a voluntary recorded interview while the search warrant was being executed at her residence on Jan. 11, 2013.  During that interview, Carey Gonzales admitted watching child pornography videos that her husband downloaded and saved.

Frederick Gonzales has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.  Carey Gonzales was remanded into federal custody after entering her guilty plea.  She too will remain in custody pending her sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charlyn E. Rees, and was investigated by the following members of the New Mexico ICAC Task Force:  the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensic Lab.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

            The case also was brought as part of the New Mexico ICAC Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico.  There are 64 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office.  Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.