Kirtland Airman Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Pornography Charge

ALBUQUERQUE—This morning in federal court in Albuquerque, Shabaka Green, 25, entered a guilty plea to receipt of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct under a plea agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office. At sentencing, Green faces a maximum penalty of imprisonment for not less than five years and not more than 20 years to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Green also will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence. Green, a United States Air Force Airman First Class C3 who was stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB), has been in federal custody since his arrest on February 11, 2011, and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be set.

United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said Green was arrested on February 11, 2011 at KAFB based on evidence developed during an undercover investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). As a result of that investigation, on March 9, 2011, Green was charged in a four-count indictment with three counts of receipt of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and one count of possession of child pornography. During today’s plea hearing, Green entered a guilty plea to count one of the indictment. Under the terms of the plea agreement, the remaining counts of the indictment will be dismissed after Green is sentenced.

According to the criminal complaint filed in the case, in December 2010, the Detroit Division of the FBI alerted the Albuquerque Division of the FBI that an undercover investigative session utilizing an enhanced version of the publicly available peer-to-peer file-sharing program had undercover evidence that a certain Internet protocol (IP) address was being used to download images and videos of minors involved in sexually explicit conduct (child pornography). Subsequent investigation revealed that Green was the subscriber for the IP address. The complaint alleges that the FBI obtained a search warrant for Green’s residence based on the evidence obtained during the undercover investigation session and executed the search warrant on February 9, 2011. Concurrent with the search of Green’s residence, investigators interviewed Green regarding his involvement in distribution, receipt, and possession of child pornography.

In his plea agreement, Green admitted that he voluntarily submitted to a tape-recorded interview with the FBI on February 9, 2011, during which he admitted possessing hundreds of child pornography images on his computer. Green admitted using the peer-to-peer file-sharing program of Shareaza to acquire child pornography, and stated that he began downloading and sharing child pornography when he was 18 years old.

In his plea agreement, Green acknowledged that a forensic examination of his computers and computer-related media uncovered thousands of image files and video files of child pornography. Green further acknowledged that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children determined that the child pornography images found on his computers and computer-related media included 50 images of 28 children who have been identified as child pornography victims and have been rescued, and 40 videos of 50 children who have been identified as child pornography victims and have been rescued.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charlyn E. Rees, and was investigated by the Albuquerque and Detroit Divisions of the FBI, with assistance from the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the New Mexico Computer Analysis and Response Team (CART).

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.