Robert Mullen, Child Pornography, New Mexico 2013

Robert Mullen, a 60-year-old former officer with the Lawton, Okla., Police Department, was arrested this morning by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on a federal complaint charging him with receiving and possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Mullen, who currently resides in Albuquerque, N.M., made his initial appearance in federal court this afternoon and remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for tomorrow morning.

According to the criminal complaint, a special agent with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office identified an IP address in August 2013 that was being used to share files containing child pornography while conducting an investigation targeting those who share child pornography on peer-to-peer file sharing networks.

Subsequent investigation revealed that the IP address was subscribed to Mullen at a residential address in Albuquerque’s west side. On December 11, 2013, HSI, the Albuquerque Police Department, and other agencies participating in the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force executed a state search warrant at the residence and seized a computer and computer-related media.

A preliminary forensic examination of a computer taken from a bedroom allegedly used by Mullen recovered images and videos consistent with child pornography.

If convicted of the charges, Mullen faces a federal prison term of not less than five years and not more than 20 years. He would also be required to register as a sex offender.

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 Albuquerque office of HSI, the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, and the Albuquerque Police Department, and is being 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.

The case was also brought as a part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force’s mission to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico.

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