ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – In a shocking turn of events, Lee Baca, a 23-year-old former U.S. Marine Reservist, was sentenced to five years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for his child pornography conviction.
Baca, who resides in Albuquerque, N.M., will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.
The charges against Baca include three counts of receipt of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and two counts of possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
According to the indictment, Baca received child pornography between Dec. 2012 and Feb. 2013, and possessed child pornography in March 2013, in Bernalillo County, N.M.
Baca was arrested on June 29, 2013, by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents, and has been in federal custody since that time.
In his plea agreement, Baca admitted to participating in a voluntary interview while the search was ongoing and telling the agents and officers that he used file-sharing programs to download child pornography.
Baca acknowledged that an ongoing forensic examination of his computers and computer-related media uncovered more than 2000 videos and images consistent with child pornography.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI, the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, and the Albuquerque Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Lizarraga as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Baca’s case also was brought as 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.
Related Federal Cases
- Matthew Lee Dale Taylor, Child Pornography, New Mexico 2023 · Rhode Island
- Carl Weatherman, Receipt of Child Pornography, New Mexico 2013 · New Mexico
- Michael Ray Sepulveda, Child Exploitation and Child Pornography, New Mexico 2016 · New Mexico
- Tristalyn Valencia, Distributing Child Pornography, New Mexico 2016 · New Mexico
- Alfonso Navarrete, Child Sexual Abuse and Child Pornography, New Mexico 2017 · Ohio
Key Facts
- State: New Mexico
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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