New Mexico man sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison for producing child pornography

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A Doña Ana man was sentenced Aug. 2 to 21 years and 10 months in prison, following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Special agents assigned to the HSI Las Cruces office investigated this case with assistance from the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office and the Las Cruces Police Department as part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

Juan Miguel Alvarez, 47, pleaded guilty on Oct. 21, 2020, to production of a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

In his plea agreement, Alvarez admitted to using the application “Talkatone” to communicate and begin a relationship with a 13-year-old victim. On Feb. 26, 2020, Alvarez persuaded the victim to send him nude photos of herself.

Upon his release from prison, Alvarez will be subject to five years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marisa A. Ong and Aaron O. Jordan prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

Learn more about HSI’s mission to combat child exploitation in your community, on Twitter at @HSIElPaso.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 6,800 special agents assigned to 225 cities throughout the United States, and 86 overseas locations in 55 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.