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A Mexican man arrested when he illegally snuck into New Hampshire from Canada will stay in a U.S. prison for the next 60 months after he was found with a stash of child sex abuse (CSAM) images.

Jose Rodriguez-Garcia, 27, was sentenced in the United States District Court in Concord to 60 months for transporting the child sex abuse images when he walked over the border in northern New Hampshire.

“The defendant illegally entered the United States by crossing from Canada while traveling with a substantial cache of CSAM that documented the exploitation and abuse of vulnerable children,” said United States Attorney Erin Creegan. “Mr. Rodriguez-Garcia’s CSAM collection was among the few possessions he carried with him into New Hampshire and serves as a reminder of the international market for CSAM.”

Rodriguez-Garcia has been in custody since his arrest in the early morning hours on June 6, 2024. According to the charging documents and statements made in court, Rodriguez-Garcia and another man were observed by U.S. Border Patrol after having apparently just crossed from Canada into New Hampshire over Hall Stream. The men were detained and brought to the Beecher Falls Border Station for processing. At that point, a search of Rodriguez-Garcia’s person and effects yielded several electronic media, including a thumb drive on which depictions of apparent CSAM were found. 

“Rodriguez-Garcia held no regard for our laws. He not only crossed into New Hampshire illegally, he carried with him deeply disturbing images of the sexual abuse of children. Today’s sentence is the result of the vigilance of our partners in the Border Patrol and the work of our special agents to ensure that those who bring child exploitation materials into our country are identified, apprehended, and held fully accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol for Homeland Security Investigations in New England.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte has made state participation in immigration enforcement part of her first-term agenda, signing legislation ending so-called sanctuary cities and funding programs like the Northern Border Alliance. She also put money in her budget for a new Northern Shield program to combat drug trafficking into New Hampshire’s northern counties.

Asked about the Rodriguez-Garcia case, Ayotte told NHJournal, “New Hampshire is not a sanctuary for dangerous criminals who enter our country illegally, and we’re going to keep working with federal law enforcement to secure our border and keep our state and our nation safe. Thank you to the Border Patrol agents who apprehended this criminal.”

U.S. District Judge Landya McCafferty imposed the five-year sentence and ordered Rodriguez-Garcia to pay $6,000 in restitution. Once he’s done serving his prison term, Rodriguez-Garcia is expected to be deported back to Mexico.

Immigration hawk state Rep. Joe Sweeney (R-Salem) said perps like Rodriguez-Garcia aren’t welcome in the Granite State.

“In New Hampshire, if you cross the border illegally and commit crimes against children, you go to prison and get deported. We enforce the law, protect kids, and hold predators accountable, not reward them with free housing and taxpayer benefits like Massachusetts Democrats do. That is the difference between serious leadership and reckless ideology,” Sweeney said.

Rodriguez-Garcia was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.

North Country state Sen. David Rochefort (R-Littleton) praised the news.

“Crimes against children are the most heinous. I’m grateful for the work of border patrol, homeland security, and federal prosecutors for putting this criminal behind bars — where he belongs,” Rochefort said.

“Through the Northern Border Alliance, 287 agreements, and ban on sanctuary cities, New Hampshire is fully prepared to work with federal authorities to stop offenders at the border and apprehend them if they enter illegally.”