ALBUQUERQUE—This morning, a federal
judge sentenced Jeffrey Neal Jackson to a 10-year term of imprisonment to be
followed by 10 years of supervised release for his child sexual exploitation
conviction. Jackson will be required to register as a sex offender after he
completes his prison sentence.
Jackson, 44, was a military recruiter
employed by the National Guard and stationed in Lubbock, Texas, when he was
arrested on child sexual exploitation charges on November 28, 2011. He has been
in federal custody since that time. On April 11, 2012, Jackson pled guilty to
count one of a two-count indictment charging him with coercion and enticement
of a minor. Under the terms of Jackson’s plea agreement, count two of the
indictment—charging Jackson with travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual
conduct—will be dismissed.
According to the indictment, between
October 3, 2011 and October 24, 2011, Jackson 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. Jackson then traveled from Texas to Curry County,
New Mexico, for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with a person whom
he believed to be a 15-year-old girl.
In entering his guilty plea, Jackson
admitted responding to an ad on craigslist.com that read, “young/cute if age
doesn’t matter hit me up” on October 3, 2011, and began a three-week online
relationship with a person he believed to be a 15-year-old girl, but who was
,in fact, an undercover officer with the Curry County Sheriff’s Office. Jackson
further admitted discussing sexual matters, including the sexual relations he
wanted to have with the child, during his online communication with the
undercover officer. Jackson also requested photos of the child, including nude
photos, and sent photos of himself, including one in his military uniform and
one of his exposed genitalia, to the undercover agent.
Jackson admitted that he agreed to meet
with the child at a house in Curry County, New Mexico, on October 25, 2011, and
that he traveled from Texas to New Mexico to do so. Jackson was arrested when
he arrived at the house and learned that the person with whom he was
communicating was an undercover agent. At the time of his arrest, Jackson had
condoms in his hand, which he recently had purchased because he anticipated
having sex with a 15-year-old girl.
U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said
that the case against Jackson was the result of 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 was prosecuted
by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charlyn E. Rees and Raul Torrez.
The 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 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.
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