Kirtland Airman Sentenced to 97 Months for Federal Child Pornography Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE—This morning in Albuquerque federal court, Shabaka Green, 25, was sentenced to a 97-month term of imprisonment to be followed by 30 years of supervised release for his conviction on a child pornography offense. Green will be required to register as a sex offender when he completes his prison sentence.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that Green was a United States Air Force Airman First Class C3 who was stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) when he was arrested on February 11, 2011, as a result of an undercover investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Green has been in federal custody since his arrest. 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. Green entered a guilty plea to count one of the indictment, charging him with receipt of child pornography, on May 23, 2011.

According to court records, 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 . Subsequent investigation revealed that Green was the subscriber for the IP address. 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 entering his guilty plea, 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 also admitted using the peer-to-peer file-sharing program to acquire child pornography, and stated that he began downloading and sharing child pornography when he was 18 years old. Green also acknowledged that a forensic examination of his computers and computer-related media uncovered thousands of image files and video files of child pornography. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children determined that the child pornography images found on his computers and computer-related media included at least 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.

Counts two through four of the indictment were dismissed after Green was sentenced.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. 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, and the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensic Lab.

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.