LAS CRUCES, NM – William Allen Patterson, 34, of Alamogordo, New Mexico, is headed to federal prison after being sentenced to 78 months today for a federal conviction related to child pornography. The sentence, handed down in Las Cruces, will be followed by 15 years of supervised release, and Patterson will be required to register as a sex offender upon completion of his prison term.
The case against Patterson began unraveling in August 2016, shockingly stemming from a polygraph examination he underwent as part of his application to become a Border Patrol Agent. During the exam, Patterson confessed to an addiction to child pornography – a revelation that immediately triggered a full investigation. A subsequent search of his Otero County residence on August 9, 2016, yielded a hard drive containing a staggering amount of illegal content: at least 10,000 images depicting the sexual exploitation of children. The timeframe of the offenses spanned from 2002 to 2012, and continued up to the date of his arrest.
On January 5, 2017, Patterson pled guilty to a felony information charging him with receiving child pornography. He admitted in court to possessing the hard drive filled with depraved images and videos downloaded from the internet on August 9, 2016. The sheer volume of material points to a sustained and disturbing pattern of behavior. This wasn’t a momentary lapse; it was a deliberate and prolonged engagement with horrific content.
The investigation was a joint effort between the Las Cruces office of Homeland Security Investigations and the Las Cruces Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Ong, of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office, led the prosecution, framing the case within the larger scope of Project Safe Childhood – a national initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) aimed at combating the pervasive issue of child sexual exploitation. This initiative brings together federal, state, and local resources to track down and prosecute predators and rescue victims.
This case was also supported by the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a collaborative network of 82 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies dedicated to identifying and apprehending individuals involved in online child exploitation. The ICAC Task Force operates with funding from a grant administered by the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General. Authorities urge anyone with information regarding suspected child predators or abuse to immediately contact law enforcement.
Patterson’s sentencing serves as a stark reminder of the dark underbelly of the internet and the relentless efforts of law enforcement to protect vulnerable children. While 78 months is a significant sentence, it hardly compensates for the damage inflicted on the victims depicted in the images found on his hard drive. The Grimy Times will continue to follow this case and report on efforts to combat online child exploitation. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Related Federal Cases
- Roswell Predator Qualls Gets 200 Years for Child Porn · New Mexico
- Farmington Meth Dealer Brandon Smith Gets 5 Years · New Mexico
- Carlsbad Felon Christopher Reza Gets Ten-Year Penalty for Narcotics & Gun Law Violation · New Mexico
- Las Cruces Gunman Gets 20 Years for Violation of Federal Firearms Laws · New Mexico
- El Paso Narc King Alejandro Carrillo Gets 46-Month Meth Sentence · Colorado
Key Facts
- State: New Mexico
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime
- Source: Official Source ↗
🔒 Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News