NM man charged with federal child pornography crimes

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — A U.S. magistrate judge found probable cause Tuesday to support a criminal complaint charging a New Mexico man with federal child pornography charges, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

William Allen Patterson, 34, from Alamogordo, New Mexico, was detained pending trial.

Patterson was arrested Aug. 10 on a criminal complaint alleging that he possessed and received visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit activity from 2002 to 2012, and Aug. 10 in Otero County, New Mexico.

According to the criminal complaint, the investigation into Patterson began earlier this month after Patterson allegedly admitted to a polygraph examiner that he was addicted to child pornography while undergoing a polygraph examination as part of the application process to be an agent with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Border Patrol (OBP). On Aug. 9, law enforcement searched Patterson’s residence and allegedly found a hard drive containing at least 10,000 images of child pornography.

If convicted on the receipt of child pornography charge, Patterson faces a statutory penalty of a mandatory minimum of five years, and a maximum of 20 years, in federal prison. If convicted on the possession of child pornography charge, he faces a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations; criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Las Cruces Police Department assisted with this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Ong of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting this case.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.