Defendant Prosecuted Under Project Safe Childhood
ALBUQUERQUE - Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney and Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Texas, announced that Jim Walter Qualls Jr., 30, of Roswell, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 200 years of imprisonment for his conviction on production of child pornography charges. Qualls’ sentence was enhanced based on his prior state court conviction for enticement of a minor.
“This previously convicted child sex offender sexually exploited a three-year-old child, who was in his care, for the purpose of producing child pornography. As a result of the sentence imposed today, he will never again exploit another child," said Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney. “This sentence should send a forceful message that law enforcement in New Mexico is committed to the protection of our children and will vigorously investigate and prosecute predators who exploit and abuse them."
“Today’s sentence ensures that this predator will never have access to the most innocent among us - our children," said Waldemar Rodriguez, Special Agent in Charge of HSI El Paso. “This lengthy sentence is appropriate for a person who has proven his propensity to target children, and will ensure the defendant never harms a child again or sees the outside of a jail cell."
Qualls was arrested on child pornography charges on July 31, 2014, based on a criminal complaint charging him with possession, receipt and distribution of child pornography, and enticement of a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography. According to the criminal complaint, Qualls committed the crimes between Oct. 2013 and Feb. 2014, in Chaves County, N.M.
Court records reflect that HSI agents from Las Cruces, N.M., executed a search warrant at Qualls’ residence after investigation identified the residence as one associated with an IP Address that was being used to upload child pornography to the internet. During the search, HSI agents confiscated Qualls’ cell phone, which contained visual depictions of minors engaged in sexual activity.
Qualls was indicted on Oct. 16, 2014, and was charged with four counts of enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography. On May 7, 2015, Qualls pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.
Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney commended HSI and the Roswell Police Department for their work in the investigation, and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander B. Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office who prosecuted the case.
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 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 86 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 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.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
