National Guardsman from Lubbock, Texas Arraigned on Federal Child Sexual Exploitation Charges

ALBUQUERQUE—Yesterday in Albuquerque federal court, Jeffrey Neal Jackson was arraigned on a three-count indictment charging him with (1) coercion and enticement of a minor; and (2) travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Jackson, 44, is a military recruiter employed by the National Guard and stationed in Lubbock, Texas. If convicted of the charges in the indictment, Jackson faces a maximum penalty of imprisonment for not less than 10 years and up to life, and a lifetime of supervised release. Jackson also will be required to register as a sex offender.

According to the indictment, between October 3, 2011 and October 24, 2011, Jackson allegedly used a computer and cellular phone to entice an individual whom he believed to be under 18 years of age to engage in sexual activity. The indictment also alleges that Jackson traveled from Texas to Curry County, N.M., for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with a person whom he believed to be a 15-year-old girl. Jackson was arrested on the charges in the indictment on November 28, 2011.

After Jackson entered a not guilty plea to the indictment during his arraignment, a United States Magistrate Judge ordered Jackson detained pending trial after finding that he poses a danger to the community.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that Jackson was charged based on an investigation by the Curry County Sheriff’s Department with assistance from the United States Army, the FBI, and the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensic Lab. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charlyn E. Rees, and was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case also was brought as part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force whose mission it is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 61 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the 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.

Charges in indictments are only accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.