Joseph Martinez Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Production of Child Pornography

ALBUQUERQUE—This afternoon, a federal judge in Albuquerque, New Mexico sentenced Joseph Martinez, 53, of Tijeras, New Mexico, to a 15-year term of imprisonment based on his guilty plea to a superseding indictment charging him with production of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales. Martinez will serve a three-year term of supervised release after he completes his prison sentence. He also will be required to register as a sex offender.

Martinez, who has been in federal custody since his arrest on August 26, 2009, pleaded guilty to the superseding indictment in February 2012. In entering his guilty plea, 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, New Mexico.

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.

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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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.

U.S. Marshals Provide Watchful Eyes During Trick or Treat

Albuquerque, NM – On Monday, October 31, 2011, Deputy United States Marshals in the District of New Mexico participated in an annual Halloween Sex Offender Compliance Operation. The overarching goal of protecting New Mexico’s children was accomplished by means of a collaborative effort that involved many agencies participating throughout the State of New Mexico. Deputy U.S. Marshals assisted with verifying the residences of registered sex offenders in many communities and while in the process of verification deputies assisted local law enforcement officers in making sure the Offenders continue to maintain compliance with their conditions of release. United States Marshal for the District of New Mexico, Conrad E. Candelaria stated “the Marshals Service for the District of New Mexico is pleased that due to the effective partnerships that exists with the many law enforcement agencies throughout the State of New Mexico, a force of good prevailed and our children and families could enjoy their Halloween festivities, knowing that sexual predators will continue to be under the watchful eye of local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies”.

In central New Mexico, Deputy Marshals were assisted by law enforcement officers from Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office, New Mexico Attorney General's Office, New Mexico State Probation and Parole, U.S. Probation, Albuquerque Police Department, Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office and Rio Rancho Police Department. In northern New Mexico, the operation consisted of U.S. Marshals, Farmington Police Department, Bloomfield Police Department, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, and New Mexico Probation and Parole. In southern New Mexico, the operation went from Oct. 26-28, and took place in Grant, Luna, and Hidalgo counties. The participating agencies in southern NM along with Deputy Marshals were HSI Special Agents, New Mexico State Police, Grant County Sheriff's Office, Luna County Sheriff's Office, Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, New Mexico Probation and Parole, and Lordsburg Police Department.

The operation concluded with over 350 Sexual Offender addresses verified. There were 3 physical arrests made and 11 pending investigations opened. The operation also had law enforcement officers conduct foot patrol in the Albuquerque Cottonwood Mall. During their patrol, officers observed a man acting suspiciously; he was observed photographing children and was asked to leave the Mall.

Serial Killers and Street Survival

Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. A Georgia police officer who wrote a true crime novel about the first known serial killer and a New Mexico police officer who has written extensively about street survival were added to the website.

Throughout his career, Dr. Vance McLaughlin has been actively involved in training officers at federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. From 1974 to 1975 he was a police officer for the Sarasota Police Department (Florida). From 1981 through1987 he was an Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice, University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he taught all undergraduate and graduate courses on Law Enforcement He has been a member of the firearms instructor qualification committee of the International Association of Firearms Instructors since 1987 and assisted in designing the PPCT Use of Force Matrix and instructor standards in 1984. Between 1987 and 2001, he was the Director of Training for the Savannah Police Department (Georgia). He is currently the Director of Planning for the Savannah Police Department.

Dr. Vance McLaughlin is the author two books: Police and the Use of Force: The Savannah Study and The Postcard Killer. According to the book description, “In 1912 John Frank Hickey, The Postcard Killer, was one of the first known and captured serial killers. This fascinating story tells how a solitary milquetoast of a man wandered the American east coast for decades, harboring a terrifying assortment of personal demons. Many of the behavior patterns that have long since come to be trademarks of the sociopathic killer are revealed in Hickey's long, demented life of crime. Unfortunately, the police and investigators in the early 20th Century had few if any tools to battle with a solitary individual's compulsion to murder young newsboys who wandered the urban streets alone.

From his first murder at eighteen until his capture and conviction nearly three decades later, Hickey traveled and worked at anonymous clerical or engineering jobs while he committed murders of breathtaking brazenness, sometimes attacking in open view. Hickey was well into middle age when his need for public attention drove him to taunt his victims' families and mock the police. He began a long series of correspondence about his crimes in the form of postcards. He enjoyed knowing that they could be read by anybody while they were en route. The postcards eventually formed the net that snared him.”

Phil L. Duran has been in law enforcement for over 19 years. He has been a member of the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department (New Mexico) for the past 18 years. Currently, Deputy Phil Duran is the Advanced Training Coordinator for his department. His is author of Developing the Survival Attitude and co-author of Tactical Attitude. On reader/reviewer of Tactical Attitude said, “this book is about surviving a deadly encounter, mainly at the mental perspective. The book covers such topics as command presence, mental rehearsal, off-duty survival, sudden stress syndrome, and many others. Almost half of the text is real-life stories told by cops. This makes the book an interesting read.” According to the book description of Developing a Survival Attitude, “this book provides you with the knowledge needed to develop the proper attitude necessary for survival on patrol, or in any other law enforcement assignment.” Phil Duran is working on a third book on role-play training.

Police-Writers.com now hosts 488 police officers (representing 207 police departments) and their 1027 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.