ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A 32-year-old man from Carlsbad, N.M., was arraigned Monday in federal court charged with possessing child pornography. This indictment resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Theodore Robert Larsen, who was arraigned in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., is charged with possessing images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Larsen allegedly committed the offense in January 2011 in Eddy County, N.M.
If convicted, Larsen faces a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a lifetime of supervised release. He would also be required to register as a sex offender. Larsen entered a not guilty plea to the indictment during Monday's proceedings. He was ordered released pending trial on a $10,000 bond under pretrial supervision and other conditions of release.
The Carlsbad, N.M., Police Department also participated in the investigation.
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 1-866-DHS-2ICE. For more information, visit www.ice.gov.
