» Couple Arrested In Child Porn Case

County Sheriff’s detectives escort Fred Gonzales, foreground, and his wife, Carey Gonzales, with her head down, from BCSO headquarters Downtown on Friday. The couple is charged with manufacturing and possession of child pornography. (pat vasquez-cunningham/journal)

The incoming president of Albuquerque’s Young America Football League and his wife, a kindergarten teacher’s aide in Albuquerque, were arrested on child pornography charges Friday afternoon.

Fred Gonzales, 42, and Carey Gonzales, 36, are each charged with manufacturing and distributing child pornography, officials from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office said.

BCSO detectives executed a search warrant on the couple’s home near Tramway and Copper NE, Deputy Aaron C. Williamson told reporters. He said they seized several computers and digital storage devices that contained pornographic images of children, whose ages were not yet known.

During questioning, both Gonzaleses admitted viewing the images, he said.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many images the couple allegedly had, Williamson said, or whether they had produced any of the images themselves.

People can be charged with manufacturing child pornography for sending images electronically — or by hard copy — to others. The charge doesn’t necessarily mean someone was producing child pornography, although, in the case of the Gonzaleses, investigators are looking into that possibility.

There is no indication the couple’s two school-age children were depicted in any of the images, Williamson said. The children, whose ages he did not know, were in state custody late Friday.

Carey Gonzales, a local kindergarten teacher’s aide, was arrested Friday on child porn charges. So was her husband, Fred Gonzales, who is a local youth football league president. (pat vasquez-cunningham/journal)

The two were booked in to the Metropolitan Detention Center late Friday.

Fred Gonzales is the president-elect of the of the Albuquerque chapter of YAFL, authorities said. Hundreds of players ranging in age from elementary through middle school participate in the local program.

According to his profile on the social networking site Facebook, Gonzales is on the board of directors for New Mexico YAFL and is the president-elect of the local organization. His profile also says he and Carey Gonzales have been married for 15 years.

Local YAFL officials did not return telephone calls seeking comment Friday. It isn’t clear from the league’s website whether Gonzales coached or otherwise worked directly with children.

Albuquerque Public Schools spokesman Rigo Chavez confirmed that Carey Gonzales is an educational assistant at Montezuma Elementary School. She has worked there since fall of 2006. The Montezuma school website says she works with kindergarteners.

Chavez said Gonzales will be placed on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

APS leaders also posted a message to the district site, alerting parents to the arrest. The statement says APS takes the allegations seriously and will cooperate with law enforcement.

Bernalillo County detectives got a tip last September about the Gonzaleses possibly being involved with child pornography, Williamson said. He described the four-month investigative that followed the tip as “intensive.”

The New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force helped in the case, he said. The computers and storage devices have been turned over to computer forensics experts.

Neither Gonzales appears to have a criminal history in New Mexico, according to Williamson and a search of online court records.