ALBUQUERQUE – Robert Steven Elliott, II, 32, of Deming, N.M., made his initial appearance this morning in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., on a criminal complaint charging him with production and possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Elliott remains in federal custody pending a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing, both of which are scheduled for later this week.
The criminal complaint alleges that Elliott produced and possessed child pornography on or about Oct. 30, 2015, in Luna County, N.M. The investigation into Elliott began on Oct. 30, 2015, when a woman contacted law enforcement authorities to report that she discovered multiple photographs which she believed to be consistent with child pornography on a cellphone. The woman represented that the cellphone belonged to Elliott and surrendered the cellphone to the authorities.
Thereafter, law enforcement obtained a federal search warrant for the cellphone. The cellphone was found to contain multiple images of child pornography, including images of a child under the age of 12.
The penalty upon conviction on each of the production of child pornography charges is a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison. The penalty upon conviction on the possession charge is a mandatory minimum of ten years and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Deming and Las Cruces offices of Homeland Security Investigations, the Luna County Sheriff’s Office, the El Paso Police Department, and the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. Individuals with information about this matter are asked to contact Homeland Security Investigations at 575-525-7400.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case 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 a part of the New Mexico 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 80 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.
Information from Department of Justice