Roswell, NM, man pleads guilty to federal child exploitation charges

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — A Roswell, New Mexico, man pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to child exploitation charges.

This guilty plea was entered without the benefit of a plea agreement, and resulted after an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Jim Walter Qualls Jr., 28, was arrested on child pornography charges July 31, 2014, based on a criminal complaint charging him with receiving and distributing child pornography, possessing child pornography, and enticing a minor to engage in any sexually explicit conduct to produce visual images.

The criminal conduct occurred between October 2013 and February 2014, in Chaves County, New Mexico. According to the criminal complaint, HSI special agents from Las Cruces executed a search warrant on Qualls’ residence after the location was identified by law enforcement as having an Internet Protocol address associated with uploaded images of child pornography to the Internet.  HSI special agents confiscated Qualls’ cellphone, which was suspected to have contained child pornography.

Qualls was indicted Oct. 16, 2014, and charged with four counts of persuading and enticing a minor child to engage in sexually explicit conduct produce images, and transporting those images through the Internet.

During the May 7 proceedings, Qualls pleaded guilty to the indictment. At sentencing, he faces a statutory mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in federal prison on each of the four counts in the indictment.  If the court determines that Qualls’ criminal history includes a prior conviction for a sexual offense, Qualls faces a statutory mandatory minimum of 25 years and maximum of 50 years of imprisonment on each count of the indictment. Qualls remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. Qualls will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his sentence.

Roswell Police Department assisted with this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander B. Shapiro 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 10,000 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 2014, more than 2,300 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.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.