Albuquerque Man Arraigned on Federal Child Pornography Charges

ALBUQUERQUE—James Olsson, 60, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was arraigned this morning on a two-count indictment charging him with possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Olsson entered a not guilty plea and was ordered detained pending trial.

The indictment charges Olsson with possessing child pornography on April 11, 2013, in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. According to court filings, on that day, a state probation officer learned that Olsson possessed child pornography during a routine field visit with Olsson at his residence. Olsson was arrested on state charges and has been in state custody until he was transferred to federal custody on June 26, 2013, to face the charges in the indictment.

If convicted, Olsson faces a maximum prison sentence of not less than 10 years and not more than 20 years on each of the two possession of child pornography charges. Olsson faces this enhanced sentence because he previously has been convicted of a child pornography offense. The indictment against Olsson is merely an accusation, and he is presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque Office of the FBI, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, and the New Mexico Corrections Department Probation and Parole. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charlyn E. Rees 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 http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

The case also was brought as part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force’s mission, which 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 ICAC 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.