Previously Convicted Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Pornography Charges

ALBUQUERQUE—James Olsson, 60, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, pleaded guilty this morning to a two-count indictment charging him with possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Olsson will be sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Olsson will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.
The indictment charged Olsson with possession of child pornography on April 11, 2013, in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. According to court filings, on that day, a state probation officer learned that Olsson possessed child pornography during a routine field visit with Olsson at his residence. Olsson was on probation for failure to register as a sex offender as required by his 2009 state court conviction for possession of child pornography. Olsson was arrested on state charges that day and was in state custody until he was transferred to federal custody on June 26, 2013.
In his plea agreement, Olsson admitted that while on probation for failure to register as a sex offender, he obtained child pornography images and videos from the Internet. Olsson further admitted that he had been collecting child pornography for approximately six months prior to his arrest in April 2013.
Olsson must serve an enhanced sentence of not less than 10 years in prison because of his prior child pornography conviction. Olsson has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque Field Office of the FBI, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, and the New Mexico Corrections Department Probation and Parole, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Lizarraga.
The case was filed as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
The case also was brought as part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 64 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies associated with the ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.