NMSP News:

ESTANCIA — The New Mexico State Police arrested Joseph A. Lopez, 29, of Estancia Feb. 20 and charged him with the Sexual Exploitation of Children.

This arrest stemmed from a month’s long investigation sparked when state police received information about a user uploading child pornography on the social media platform Snapchat.

The information came from a tip given to the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children through Snapchat.

With cooperation between Snapchat and the three agencies, the investigation led to identifying that Snapchat user as Lopez. 

The NMSP Crimes Against Children Unit served a search warrant on Lopez’s residence in Estancia, which yielded at least 25 photographic images of child pornography on his electronic devices.

Lopez was arrested and booked into the Core Civic Detention Center in Estancia.

This case is still under investigation by the New Mexico State Police. Anyone living in the Torrance County area with information concerning this investigation or have a child that may have been the victim of Child Exploitation, is urged to call the New Mexico State Police at 505.841.9256 option 0.