Prior Sex Offender Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Federal Child Pornography Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – James Olsson, 60, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today to ten years in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for his child pornography conviction.  Olsson will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence. 

Olsson was indicted on June 12, 2013, and charged with two counts of possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  According to court filings, on April 11, 2013, that day, a state probation officer learned that Olsson possessed child pornography during a routine field visit with Olsson at his residence.  At the time, Olsson was on probation for failure to register as a sex offender as required by his 2009 state court conviction for possession of child pornography.  Olsson was arrested on state charges that day and was in state custody until he was transferred to federal custody on June 26, 2013.

On Dec. 2, 2013, Olsson pled guilty to the indictment and admitted obtaining child pornography images and videos from the Internet.  Olsson further admitted that he had been collecting child pornography for approximately six months prior to his arrest in April 2013.  Olsson was subject to an enhanced sentence of not less than ten years in prison because of his prior child pornography conviction.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico Corrections Department’s Division of Probation and Parole, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Lizarraga.

The case was filed 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 Internet Crimes Against Children (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.