Immigration Fraud, Child Porn Focus Of Spokane Criminal Case

SPOKANE, WA - A Federal grand jury in Spokane this week indicted a man on charges related to immigration fraud and the possession of child pornography. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Washington announced the indictment and pending criminal charges on Wednesday.

Orlando Baires-Cartagena was arrested March 25 in Spokane County, according to jail records. He is accused of knowingly receiving and possessing images that depict minors and prepubescent children engaging in sexually explicit conduct, as well as a counterfeit Permanent Resident Card in the name of "Orlando Baires," which he used to illegally work and live in the U.S.

"These Indictments demonstrate the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington is committed to pursuing aggressively those accused of child pornography offenses and to protecting the integrity of the immigration process — possessing a counterfeit immigration document circumvents the immigration laws and undermines confidence in the system," U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Harrington said in a statement. "The charges contained in the Indictments are merely allegations. Baires-Cartagena is presumed innocent, as is any defendant in a criminal case, until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law."

The child pornography charges were reportedly the result of an investigation conducted as part of Project Safe Childhood, "a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the United States Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse," U.S. Attorney's official said.

If convicted of all three indictments — receiving and possessing child pornography, and immigration fraud — Baires-Cartagena faces fines totaling roughly $750,000 and up to 20 years imprisonment.

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