Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Pornography Charge

ALBUQUERQUE – Andres Salinas, 20, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to possessing child pornography.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Salinas will be sentenced within the range of four to six years in prison followed by not less than 15 years of supervised release.  He also will be required to register as a sex offender after completing his term of imprisonment.

Salinas was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents on Sept. 4, 2014, and charged in a criminal complaint with receipt and possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Salinas subsequently was indicted on Sept. 23, 2014, on the same charges.

Court filings reflect that HSI initiated an investigation into Salinas in July 2014, after receiving a referral from the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General, which is a member of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.  In July 2014, investigators identified an IP address that was being used to download and share child pornography.  Subsequent investigation revealed that the IP address was subscribed to the residence in which Salinas lived. In Sept. 2014, investigators interviewed Salinas at his residence and he admitted that he had used the file sharing network to download images and videos consistent with child pornography and child erotica.  Investigators seized computers, a video recorder, a cellular phone and computer-related media that contained child pornography after learning that Salinas regularly used the computer while he lived in the residence.

During today’s change of plea hearing, Salinas pled guilty possession of a matter containing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and admitted that from July 20, 2014 through Aug. 9, 2014, he possessed visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.   Salinas remains detained pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

 This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI, the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General and the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Wishard.

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 a 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 80 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General.  Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.