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Former federal contractor Lawrence Lucero, 65, of Tucumcari, was sentenced in federal court in Albuquerque last week to 78 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for his child pornography conviction, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Lucero was charged in July 2012 with three counts of receiving visual depictions of minors engaging in sex and two counts of possessing such material between March 2012 and May 2012 in Rio Arriba and San Miguel counties, and he pleaded guilty to the indictment last December, federal prosecutors said.
At the time covered by the indictment, Lucero was employed as a social worker by a company providing health care personnel to the Veterans Affairs Community-Based Outpatient Clinics in Las Vegas, N.M., and Espanola, according to the release.
The VA began an investigation in March 2012 into concerns that computers on the VA network were being used to access child pornography, and that investigation led to Lucero, who has been in custody since his arrest in July 2012, prosecutors said.
5:06am 12/5/12 — Ex-Contractor Pleads Guilty to Child Porn
By ABQnews Staff
Authorities say a former federal contractor in New Mexico has pleaded guilty to child pornography charges.
Prosecutors say 65-year-old Lawrence Lucero of Tucumcari entered his plea Tuesday morning in a federal court in Albuquerque.
Lucero was indicted on five counts and accused of receiving and possessing child pornography between March and May of this year in Rio Arriba and San Miguel counties.
During that time period, authorities say Lucero was employed as a social worker by a company that provided healthcare staff at the Veterans Affairs Community-Based Outpatient Clinics in Las Vegas and Espanolaunder a contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Lucero has been in federal custody since his arrest in July. Authorities say he remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
