Carlsbad Man Sentenced to 70 Years in Prison for Production and Distribution of Child Porn

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced that Joseph Crutcher was sentenced to 70 years in prison and ordered pay $50,000 in restitution. Crutcher, 59, of Carlsbad, pled guilty on Feb. 27 to production of a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.

According to court documents, on Nov. 8, 2022, a Task Force Officer (TFO) was monitoring a fetish website that is known to be used to meet, discuss and trade child sexual abuse material (CSAM) when they were contacted by a private user. The user offered and provided the TFO with several images of a minor performing sexually explicit conduct.

On Nov. 9, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation identified the user of the account as Rachel Crutcher and obtained a search warrant for Crutcher’s residence in Carlsbad. During the execution of the search warrant, agents spoke to Crutcher and his wife Rachel. Joseph admitted he was the one who had taken the pictures of him sexually abusing the children and claimed Rachel was unaware of his conduct. Rachel initially denied knowledge or involvement, but during a later interview she admitted she had been involved.

Through diligent investigation, agents determined that both Joseph and Rachel had sexually abused three minor children they had access to from the time they were infants with the intent of producing CSAM and that Joseph, posing as Rachel, was the individual who sent the images to the TFO. The investigation also revealed that Joseph had recruited other men to sexually abuse one of the children.

Upon his release from prison, Crutcher will be subject to lifetime supervised release and must register as a sex offender.

On Feb. 27, 2023, Rachel Crutcher pled guilty to production of child pornography and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Upon her release from prison, Rachel must register as a sex offender.

Roswell Resident Agency and Albuquerque Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marisa A. Ong and Matilda M. Villalobos are prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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/.

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