ALBUQUERQUE—This morning in federal
court, Justin Gray, 34, of Ruidoso, New Mexico, pled guilty to a receipt of a
visual depiction of a minor child engaged in sexually explicit conduct charge
under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said
that the plea agreement requires that Gray be sentenced to 22 years of
imprisonment to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Gray also will
be required to register as a sex offender.
Gray was indicted on July 13, 2011, in a
six-count indictment charging him with three counts of distribution and
attempted distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually
explicit conduct; one count of receipt of visual depiction of a minor engaged
in sexually explicit conduct; and two counts of possession of matter containing
visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
According to the indictment, Gray
distributed child pornography in October 2010, November 2010 and February 2011;
received child pornography in September 2010; and possessed child pornography
in March 2011.
Gray was arrested on September 12, 2011,
and has been in federal custody since that time. Gray will remain detained
pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
According to Gray’s plea agreement, the
New Mexico Attorney General’s Office (NMAGO) executed a search warrant at
Gray’s home on March 22, 2011, after receiving a tip from the National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that a person in New Mexico was
using an IP address to transmit child pornography and determining that the IP
address was subscribed to Gray’s residence.
A forensic examination of a computer and
computer-related media seized from Gray’s residence revealed that they
contained over 15,000 images and over 150 videos of child pornography. The
NCMEC determined that the child pornography images and videos found on Gray’s
computers and computer-related media included 572 child pornography images of
44 children who have been identified as child pornography victims and have been
rescued, and 30 child pornography videos of seven children who have been
identified as child pornography victims and have been rescued.
In his plea agreement, Gray acknowledged
that, in March 2011, he voluntarily participated in a recorded interview with
NMAGO agents during which he admitted that he used his computer to receive
images of naked children under the age of 12; that he had a prior conviction
for child pornography; and that he was addicted to this activity.
Court records reflect that, prior to his
arrest in this case, Gray previously had been convicted of (1) criminal sexual
contact with a minor in 2000 in the 13th Judicial District Court (Valencia
County); (2) criminal sexual penetration of a minor in 2000 in the 11th
Judicial District Court (San Juan County); and (3) sexual exploitation of
children in 2009 in the 1st Judicial District Court (Santa Fe County).
Gray was charged in this case based on
an investigation by the NMAGO, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and
Homeland Security Investigation, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S.
Attorney Charlyn E. Rees.
This case 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 64 federal, state, and local law
enforcement agencies associated with the task force, which is funded by a grant
administered by the NMAGO.
Anyone with information relating to
suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact
federal or local law enforcement.
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