Former detention center employee charged in child porn case

RIO RANCHO — Connor Hoffman, 22, a former Sandoval County Detention Center employee of Rio Rancho, was charged by Homeland Security for sexual exploitation of children, tampering with evidence and five counts of distributing sexual exploitation of children.

SCDC's warden Gilbert Armendariz stated March 31 that Hoffman resigned in November.

“Connor Hoffman is a former corrections officer at the Sandoval County Detention Center. He resigned on 11/2/2024; he had worked for the county for less than a year,” he said.

The alleged crimes, according to an affidavit for arrest warrant filed March 26, took place in the months leading up to Hoffman's resignation, from June 14 to Dec. 4.

A narrative by the investigating officer stated that the case started July 10 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received information from Kik Messenger, which allows users to chat, send media and join chat groups. It tipped the center off that two files of child sexual abuse material had been uploaded by a local IP address.

After receiving a grand jury subpoena from the New Mexico Department of Justice in September, internet records were investigated, revealing a series of videos depicting underage girls performing acts of bestiality.

The IP address, belonging to Hoffman's relative, led the investigation to a residence in Rio Rancho, where Hoffman also resided. They confirmed he worked for the detention center and had been there since 4:30 a.m. Investigators contacted him there, and he turned over his cellphone.

Hoffman allegedly confessed that he used Kik for about a year and admitted he would use the app on his phone to go into "rooms" featuring bestiality with women. He said he had seen pornography involving children while using the app and confessed to sharing some of the bestiality videos, according to an affidavit for arrest warrant.

Hoffman told officers he would delete the app off his phone so peers wouldn't see and reinstall it when he wanted to look at the pornography again.

Another Kik search revealed several created email addresses tied to Hoffman that showed Hoffman had downloaded videos into ZIP files and used the app to share the videos with other users.

Hoffman could face more than 15 years in prison if he is convicted.