Albuquerque Man Sentenced to More Than 15 Years in Federal Prison on Child Pornography Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE—Maximiliano Cordova, 20, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was sentenced this afternoon to 188 months in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for his child pornography conviction. Cordova also was ordered to pay $500 to the identified victim in his count of conviction. The sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough and Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division.

Cordova was arrested by the FBI on May 6, 2013, on a criminal complaint alleging that he distributed, received, and possessed visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Cordova subsequently was indicted and charged with two counts of distribution of child pornography, two counts of receipt of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography.

The investigation leading to Cordova’s arrest was initiated in mid-January 2013 after an FBI agent who was working in an undercover capacity in New Jersey signed onto a publicly available peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing network that was being used by individuals who were sharing child pornography images. The agent learned that one of the individuals sharing child pornography images on the P2P network was using an IP address subscribed to Cordova’s residential address. On May 3, 2013, the FBI executed a search warrant at Cordova’s residence.

While executing the search warrant, FBI agents observed a laptop computer on Cordova’s bed that was running and displaying information for the P2P network that was used for sharing child pornography. The FBI seized the laptop computer, other computers, and other computer-related media from Cordova’s residence. A forensic of the laptop computer confirmed that it contained child pornography images.

On October 1, 2013, Cordova entered a guilty plea to one count of distribution of child pornography. In his plea agreement, Cordova admitted that he had been using a file sharing program to distribute, receive, and possess child pornography for approximately six months prior to his arrest. Cordova also acknowledged that a forensic examination of his computers and computer-related media revealed that Cordova possessed more than 1,000 child pornography images and videos.

This case was investigated by FBI and the New Mexico Regional Forensic Lab and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Lizarraga. It 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 http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

The Operation also was brought as a 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.