Albuquerque Man Facing Federal Child Pornography Charges

ALBUQUERQUE – Joshua Iben, 21, of Albuquerque, N.M., entered a not guilty plea in federal court this morning on a criminal complaint charging him with distribution, receipt and possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Iben will remain in federal custody pending trial.

Iben was arrested yesterday based on an FBI investigation that began in July 2013 and revealed that an IP address subscribed to Iben’s residential address allegedly was being used to share child pornography images.  According to the criminal complaint, on Nov. 20, 2013, FBI agents executed a federal search warrant at Iben’s residence and seized computers and computer-related media.  A preliminary forensic examination of a laptop computer taken from Iben’s residence revealed that it contains images consistent with child pornography.     
           
If convicted of the charges in the criminal complaint, Iben faces a federal prison term of not less than five years and not more than 20 years.  If convicted, Iben also would be required to register as a sex offender.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark T. Baker 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/.