New Mexico man arraigned on federal child pornography charges

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A local man was arraigned on Thursday on a federal indictment charging him with possessing and receiving child pornography. This case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and other law enforcement agencies.

Richard D. Crisman, 27, of Rio Rancho, N.M., was arraigned on a six-count indictment charging him with six counts of child pornography offenses. The indictment charges Crisman with three counts of receiving a visual depiction of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and three counts of possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Crisman allegedly committed all six offenses in September 2010 in Bernalillo County, N.M.

Crisman entered a not guilty plea to the indictment Sept. 8, and remains detained pending trial based on findings that he poses a danger to the community and a risk of flight.

Crisman was arrested in September 2010 on state charges filed by the District Attorney's Office for the 13th Judicial District of the State of New Mexico. The federal indictment charging Crisman was filed under seal Aug. 23. It was unsealed Sept. 7 after Crisman was arrested on the federal charges.

The maximum penalty for a conviction on each of the receipt offenses is 20 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release. The maximum penalty for a conviction on each of the possession charges is 10 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release. If convicted of any count, Crisman also will be required to register as a sex offender.

The following agencies assisted with this investigation: the Rio Rancho Police Department, the New Mexico State Police, the FBI, and the District Attorney's Office for the 13th Judicial District.

Charges in indictments are only accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is part of ICE's Operation Predator, an ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators by calling at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE. For more information, visit www.ice.gov.