Richard Alex Buitimea, a 35-year-old member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. The sentencing was delivered last week by United States District Court Judge James A. Soto.
The case began when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) notified authorities that a Google Drive account linked to Buitimea might contain child sexual abuse material. Following this tip, FBI agents secured a search warrant and found over 1,000 images and 21 videos containing such material.
A subsequent investigation led by the FBI and the Pascua Yaqui Police Department included searches at two residences on the Pascua Yaqui Reservation associated with Buitimea. During these searches, investigators found that the main smartphone involved had been recently destroyed and reset to factory settings, making forensic analysis impossible. However, investigators confirmed through digital records that Buitimea continued to access and use his Google Drive account during the period when the illegal material was uploaded and stored.
“This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, 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 www.justice.gov/psc.”
The investigation was conducted jointly by agents from the FBI’s Tucson Division and officers from the Pascua Yaqui Police Department. The prosecution was handled by attorneys from the United States Attorney’s Office in Tucson with support from a Special Assistant United States Attorney representing the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.
