Joseph Martinez Pleads Guilty to Production of Child Pornography Charge

Plea Agreement Requires 15-Year Prison Sentence and Lifetime Supervised Release

ALBUQUERQUE—This morning in federal court, Joseph Martinez, 53, of Tijeras, N.M., entered a guilty plea to a superseding indictment charging him with production of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Martinez will be sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Martinez also will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence. Martinez has been in federal custody since his arrest on August 26, 2009. He remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

In entering his guilty agreement, Martinez admitted that, between March 1992 and March 1998, he persuaded, induced, enticed, coerced, and encouraged a minor male child (victim) to engage in sexually explicit conduct so that he (Martinez) could produce a visual depiction of that conduct. Martinez admitted that this course of conduct occurred in Bernalillo County, N.M.

In his plea agreement, Martinez acknowledged that, if he proceeded to trial, the victim would testify that Martinez took sexually explicit photos of him when he was between the ages of 6 and 12 years old. Martinez also acknowledged that an inmate with whom he had contact while in jail would testify that Martinez admitted that police found sexually explicit photographs of the victim, including photographs showing Martinez engaged in sexual activity with the victim. The inmate also would testify that Martinez admitted that Martinez began this pattern of criminal activity when the victim was approximately 5 years old.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Martinez is required to withdraw his pending motion to suppress the victim’s testimony. Martinez also waives his rights to appeal his conviction and sentence.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charlyn E. Rees and Presliano Torrez, and was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. 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 Projectsafechildhood.gov.