In Sports
In Vistas
Goddard grabs 6 District titles
D e n i m a n d Diamonds nearing
11 Rockets, eight Coyotes qualify for the state wrestling tournament. -B1
The fifth annual Denim and Diamonds event will be honoring the Rogers family March 20. -C1
Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 124, No. 40 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
February 15, 2015
SUNDAY
www.rdrnews.com
Legislation filed to close loophole in state’s child porn law
Staff Report
State Reps. Sarah Maestas Barnes (R – Bernalillo) and Javier Martinez (D – Bernalillo) on Friday filed legislation supported by Attorney General Hector Balderas to close New Mexico’s child pornography loophole. In New Mexico, defendants who possess multiple images of children being raped, objectified and exploited in multiple forms of media and online are currently only subject to prosecution of one count of child exploitation by possession, irrespective of the number of images of child victims they possess,
according to a released statement from the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office. HB 440 adds language to current statute clarifying that each depiction of a child under 18 years of age engaged in a prohibited sexual act contained on an item of visual or print medium shall be considered a distinct act and shall be charged as an individual criminal offense. HB 440 does not mandate prosecution of every image, but rather allows prosecutors to use their discretion in charging based on the nature of the images, sexual abuse depicted, and volume of the collection,
thus dis-incentivizing the collection and furtherance of child exploitation. “Nothing is more important than protecting New Mexico children from child pornographers and sexual predators, and this legislation seeks to close a legal loophole so law enforcement can do just that,” Barnes said. “It’s common sense, and I believe prosecutors should have the discretion to charge a child pornographer with more than just one count when large amounts of images are involved.” “We must give law enforcement and prosecutors the tools they need to stomp out the produc-
tion and distribution of child pornography in New Mexico,” Martinez said. “I co-sponsored this legislation because child pornographers and distributors need to serve serious time for their offenses, and to prevent future exploitation of children in our state.” “This bipartisan legislation is key to shuttering the black-market child pornography industry in New Mexico that destroys children and families’ lives,” Balderas said. Gov. Susana Martinez has also been a strong supporter of this legislative solution in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling last spring. While serving as
assistant district attorney in Doña Ana County from 1986 to 1992, Martinez developed a specialty in the office of working with sexually abused children. In the recent New Mexico Supreme Court Case Olssen v. Ballard, the court determined that the statutory language criminalizing child exploitation by possession was ambiguous and that the legislature had not clearly defined the unit of prosecution. The result is that defendants who possess multiple images of children being raped, objectified and exploited in multiple forms of media and online, are currently only subject to
prosecution of one count of child exploitation by possession, irrespective of the number of images they possessed. Even the Supreme Court acknowledged that the Legislature likely never intended this result wherein “a defendant would have no incentive to stop downloading child pornography after the first image.” This bill has been drafted to repair the perceived infirmity of the statute and provide protection to children in the State of New Mexico against anyone who would seek to collect images of child rape and exploitation.
Jobs, education focus of event By Timothy P. Howsare Record Editor
Timothy P. Howsare Photo
From left, Maureen Ginn, pastors Artis Allen and Michael K. Shelton, Queen B. Shelton, Alice Wagoner, Debbie Gorham and Richard Gorham, pastor of Ware Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church.
New Mexico bill would end ‘fuel clause’ for utilities
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — The New Mexico Senate proposed legislation this week that would prevent public electric utilities from passing increased fuel costs to consumers without a public hearing. The bipartisan bill, which was brought up by senators Monday, would eliminate the “fuel adjustment clause” used by Pub-
lic Service Company of New Mexico and the state’s two other public utilities. Instead, they would have to discuss rate increases tied to fuel costs in public before the state’s Public Regulation Commission. Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque, and Sen. Peter See BILL, Page A2
Senate confirms reappointment of NM environment secretary
SANTA FE (AP) — New Mexico Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn cruised to an easy confirmation as state lawmakers praised him for attempting to hold federal officials accountable for a radiation mishap at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The Senate confirmed Flynn’s reappointment with a unanimous vote Friday. Earlier this week, Flynn threated the U.S. Energy Department with another round of fines that could top $100 million. The
department and its contractors already face more than $54 million over the radiation incident. Democratic Sen. Peter Wirth of Santa Fe called the situation “an absolute mess.” Wirth and others said Flynn has shown leadership while guiding the state through the situation. Lawmakers also pointed to his efforts to pressure the U.S. Air Force to clean up a decades-old jet fuel spill at Kirtland Air Force Base.
See HISTORY, Page A2
Ponce says farewell to RISD school board By Dylanne Petros Record Staff Writer
Tuesday night was Pauline Ponce’s last night as Roswell Independent School District’s school board president. Ponce has been school board president since 2011 and was recently defeated by Ruben Sanchez for Position 4 on the board. “I and the Roswell Independent School District would like to offer a heartfelt thank you to Pauline Ponce,” said Tom Burris, superintendent of RISD. “Her wisdom and guidance as our board president have been nothing short of exemplary.” Ponce said it was an honor to be on the board and serve the school district after being a student in the district while growing up. Ponce said she grew up in a two-bedroom home on the east side of Roswell with her mother, father and grandmother. “I knew only my family and the Spanish language
Today’s Forecast
HIGH 79 LOW 36
Black History Month was celebrated Saturday at Ware Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, a small neighborhood church on East Deming Street. The church hosted “A Century of Life, History and Culture,” the second in a series of Black History Month events. The focus of Saturday’s event, which drew about 30 people to the church’s small community center, was education and jobs. ”Basically it was a seminar on how education leads to employment,” said Queen B. Shelton, a volunteer who helped organize the event. Shelton has participated in other job fairs around Roswell, including
a town hall in December. However, this was the first time something was put together for Black History Month. Though Roswell’s African-American population is only around 3 or 4 percent, Shelton said she does think in terms of demographic groups — Hispanics, whites and blacks. ”We are multicultural,” she said. “These programs can benefit everyone. The more information there is, the more it helps Roswell as a whole.” There are three more events left in the Black History Month series. The next event, “Culture, Celebrate with Family and Friends,” will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Feb. 21, at St. Paul Ministries, 300
and that’s all I needed,” she said. “I was safe, had plenty to eat and prayed the rosary every day with my grandmother.” Ponce said she and her family were considered poor but she never realized it because of the love received from family members. “In that setting I grew up safe, happy, confident,” Ponce said. Ponce also credited her father for her work ethic. “My father was a hard-working man who taught me that you don’t call in sick unless you’re in the hospital,” she said. Ponce also learned the value of education from her family. She said her family taught her that education was the opening to new opportunities and with education, you could achieve any of your dreams. While in high school, Ponce said the school counselors told the women they could either go to business school to become a secretary or go to beauty school to become a cos-
metologist. Ponce said she knew she could do better, which is why after graduating high school she enrolled in Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell where she earned 112 credits toward her first degree in elementary education. After obtaining the 112 credits from ENMU-R, Ponce transferred to the main campus in Portales where she earned a bachelor’s in elementary education with honors. She was not finished with school, though. “However, I continued on and ultimately received two more degrees from Eastern: a master’s in elementary with an emphasis in reading and an education specialist degree in public school administration,” Ponce said. The road to obtain her degrees was not an easy
Today’s Obituaries Page B6, B7
Ponce one, but she is thankful she had the struggles. “If you think it wasn’t hard, I could write a book about that,” she said. “I have often felt like a pioneer plowing, literally plowing, the way through which many others could have the opportunity to be hired as certified profesSee PONCE, Page A2
Index
• Glenn “BooBoo” Marler
• Anita Acosta Meraz
• H. Ross Tenneson
• Paul Frederick Willems
• Joe Head
• Wanda Sue Parker
• Gertrude M. Rogers
• Gretchen Ruth Weibert
• Dorothy Dell Denton Glover
General...............A2 Horoscopes.........A7 Lotteries. ............A2 Opinion.................A4
Sports. ................B1 Weather...............A8 Nation..................A7