Carl Weatherman, 34, of Albuquerque, N.M., is headed to federal prison for 75 months after admitting he received child pornography on his computer over a four-month stretch in late 2013. The sentence, handed down in Santa Fe federal court, marks the end of a years-long investigation sparked by a minor’s chilling report: they had seen Weatherman watching child porn — and that he showed it to them.
Arrested April 8, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with receipt and possession of child pornography, Weatherman’s downfall began in December 2013 when the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) launched an investigation. The tip came directly from a child who witnessed Weatherman viewing illicit material and was later shown it. By February 2014, BCSO had executed search warrants at his residence, seizing computers, cellphones, and other digital media tied to the crimes.
Forensic analysis by the New Mexico Regional Forensic Laboratory confirmed the worst: the seized devices contained images and videos depicting minors in sexually explicit conduct. The digital trail was clear and damning. Weatherman was indicted May 7, 2014, on two counts — one for receipt and one for possession of child pornography.
On December 10, 2014, Weatherman pleaded guilty to the first count — receipt of child pornography — as part of a plea agreement in which he admitted to knowingly downloading and accessing child porn between August and December 2013. The possession charge was dropped as part of the deal, but the sentence still carries a heavy toll: 75 months behind bars, followed by a decade of supervised release.
Upon release, Weatherman will be required to register as a sex offender — a lifelong consequence that follows him into the community. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob A. Wishard and investigated by the FBI’s Albuquerque office, BCSO, and the New Mexico Regional Forensic Laboratory — a multi-agency push emblematic of how such crimes are now pursued.
The prosecution was part of Project Safe Childhood, the DOJ’s nationwide crackdown on child sexual exploitation, and bolstered by the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which includes 86 law enforcement agencies working to track and arrest online predators. Authorities urge anyone with information about child predators to come forward — because often, the first tip comes from a child too afraid to speak up.
Related Federal Cases
- Albuquerque Sex Offender Randal Gordon Paul Faces Child Porn Charges · New Mexico
- Farmington Woman Gets 13 Years for Child Porn Distribution · New Mexico
- Scot Letourneau Gets 16 Years for Child Porn, Fleeing Justice · New Mexico
- Deming Man Gets 30 Years for Child Porn Production · New Mexico
- Albuquerque Woman Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charge · New Mexico
Key Facts
- State: New Mexico
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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