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| Stephen Hensley |
09/16/2011
LAS CRUCES - A former corrections officer was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Albuquerque to 97 months in prison for child pornography possession, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Former Quay County Detention Facility officer Stephen Hensley, 42, of Tucumari, will also serve 20 years of supervised release, pay $1,000 in restitution to one of the victims of the photographs and be required to register as a sex offender.
New Mexico State Police initiated an investigation into Hensley in January 2010 after his computer was flagged for offering child pornography images online. On July 1, 2010, state police executed a search warrant and seized his computer and Hensley admitted in an interview with police that he used the Limewire program to download hundreds of images and videos.
Eighty images featuring 31 children and 31 videos featuring 22 children had already been identified by authorities, who said the children have been "rescued."
In December, a federal grand jury indicted Hensley on two counts of receiving child pornography and two counts of possession of child pornography. On April 25, Hensley pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography.
The case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charlyn E. Rees, was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The case also was brought as part of the 61-agency New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which aims to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico.
Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.
