Defendant Prosecuted Under Project Safe Childhood
ALBUQUERQUE - A U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., today found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Juan Martin Rosales, 48, of Chaparral, N.M., with sexual exploitation of children and receipt and possession of child pornography. During today’s proceedings, Rosales was ordered detained pending trial.
The criminal complaint alleges that Rosales sexually exploited children and received and possessed child pornography from Oct. 2015 through Oct 16, 2017, in Dona Ana County, N.M. According to the complaint, the investigation into Rosales was initiated in April 2017, when Rosales’ neighbors went to the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office to report that Rosales allegedly possessed a tablet computer containing child pornography. The complaint further alleges that Rosales used a cellular phone to take photographs of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. During the execution of a search warrant on Oct. 16, 2017, law enforcement agents allegedly recovered numerous SD cards, cellular phones, a tablet computer and other electronic devices from Rosales’ home, which allegedly contain child pornography. Rosales was arrested that day on related state charges.
If convicted of the child sexual exploitation charge, Rosales faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in federal prison. If convicted of receiving child pornography, Rosales faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison. If convicted of possessing child pornography, Rosales faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of Homeland Security Investigations, the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office, Las Cruces Police Department and the Otero County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander B. Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case 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/. Individuals with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse are encouraged to contact the Children’s Advocacy Center tipline at (575) 526-3437.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
