Jim Walter Qualls, Jr., Child Pornography, New Mexico 2014

Man Faces 15 Years to Life in Prison for Child Pornography

Jim Walter Qualls, Jr., 27, of Roswell, New Mexico, appeared in federal court in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on a criminal complaint charging him with production and distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Qualls entered a not guilty plea to the criminal complaint and remains in custody pending a detention hearing scheduled on August 13, 2014.

According to court filings, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigation revealed that the administrator for a website banned a specific account from the website for allegedly posting sexually explicit images of a minor female approximately three to five years in age.

Investigation revealed that the account was connected to an IP Address subscribed to Qualls at a Roswell residence. On July 31, 2014, law enforcement officers from HSI, the Roswell Police Department, and the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office executed a federal search warrant at Qualls’ residence and seized cellphones, computers, computer-related media, a camera, and other items.

Qualls was arrested after he was interviewed by law enforcement officers. If convicted of the charges in the criminal complaint, Qualls faces a federal prison term of not less than 15 years and not more than 30 years. Qualls also would 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 Las Cruces office of HSI, the Roswell Police Department, and the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Artesia Police Department.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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. This case also was brought as a part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force’s mission.

The New Mexico ICAC Task Force is funded by a grant administered by the NMAGO. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.

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