Home Albuquerque Press Releases 2010 Project Safe Childhood Enforcement Efforts Lead to Federal Child Exploitation Charges
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Project Safe Childhood Enforcement Efforts Lead to Federal Child Exploitation Charges

U.S. Attorney’s Office August 02, 2010
  • District of New Mexico (505) 346-7274

The Project Safe Childhood (“PSC”) initiative in New Mexico led to charges in two federal cases last week.

On July 29, 2010, a criminal complaint was filed in United States District Court alleging that Durango resident David Gene Peterson, 49, traveled from Colorado to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the purpose of engaging in a sexual act with a person under the age of 18. The complaint further alleges that a concerned citizen in Durango, Colorado tipped off local authorities about Peterson’s alleged sexual interest in underage girls. According to the complaint, on July 20, 2010, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE) in Albuquerque and the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office (“LPCSO”) in Durango initiated an undercover investigation of Peterson. During the course of the undercover investigation, Peterson made arrangements to travel to Albuquerque to have sexual contact with a female Peterson believed to be 13 years old. According to the complaint, authorities arrested Peterson on July 28, 2010, when he arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Peterson appeared in federal court in Albuquerque on July 29, 2010, and was detained pending trial. The maximum penalty for this offense is 30 years of imprisonment and a life term of supervised release.

In a separate federal indictment unsealed on July 30, 2010, Jordan Earl Madison Jr., 49, of Albuquerque, New Mexico was charged with one count of distribution and attempted distribution of child pornography, two counts of receipt of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography.

The indictment alleges that Madison committed these offenses in February and March 2010. According to the indictment, Madison has a prior Arizona state conviction for attempted molestation of a child. If convicted, Madison faces a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years of imprisonment and up to a life term of supervised release. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of New Mexico Attorney General Gary King, and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

Both cases are being prosecuted by Charlyn Rees, Assistant United States Attorney, as part of the PSC national initiative. The Department of Justice launched PSC in May 2006, to combat the proliferation of online sexual exploitation of children. PSC marshals federal, state, tribal, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

United States Attorney Kenneth Gonzales commended the commitment of prosecutors and federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement to the PSC initiative: "The Internet has become an important part of our daily life at home, school, and at work. But it also has become a dangerous place for kids. Through PSC, my office and our law enforcement partners have been successful at prosecuting those who exploit our children online. PSC’s public education efforts also raise awareness about the dangers our children face every day in the cyberworld and provide parents with the tools they need to protect their children from online sexual exploitation."

In New Mexico, since March 2010, Project Safe Childhood (PSC) enforcement efforts resulted in 17 federal prosecutions for possession, receipt or distribution of child pornography. One example of the success of these efforts is the 128-month prison sentence Moriarty resident Terry Slade received on June 14, 2010, for possession of child pornography. Slade, a repeat offender, had prior state and federal child pornography related convictions.

In addition to investigative and prosecution efforts, PSC provides community outreach and education. In 2009, the United States Attorney’s Office, in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration Customs and Enforcement, and the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office implemented an online safety program to teach members of the community how to protect themselves and their children online.

Despite these efforts to fight child exploitation, the Department of Justice recognizes that more work remains to be done. To that end, earlier today Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Department of Justice has released its National Strategy to Combat Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction. The strategy provides the first ever comprehensive threat assessment of the dangers facing children from child pornography, online enticement, child sex tourism, commercial sexual exploitation and sexual exploitation in Indian Country, and outlines a blueprint to strengthen the fight against these crimes.

For more information on PSC or the National Strategy to Combat Child Exploitation, please visit the Department of Justice website at www.justice.gov or the PSC website at: http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

An indictment or complaint is only an accusation. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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