Federal investigators said suspected CSAM was found on Brian Pori’s laptop after his devices were seized in a Cibola County contraband case.

Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News

LAS CRUCES - A New Mexico attorney is facing a federal child sexual abuse material charge after investigators said they found suspected CSAM on a laptop seized after his March arrest in a Cibola County jail contraband case.

Brian Anthony Pori, 65, is charged in U.S. District Court with possession of child pornography, the formal federal charge listed in court records.

A federal criminal complaint filed May 21 says the FBI was investigating allegations of drug trafficking activity at the Cibola County Correctional Center when Pori was arrested March 11 by Milan police.

According to the federal complaint, Pori had been arrested and charged in state court with bringing contraband into a place of imprisonment. The state charge stemmed from an allegation that he attempted to bring suspected suboxone strips into the Cibola County Correctional Center while visiting a client.

After the March arrest, Pori’s cellphone and laptop were seized by the FBI and U.S. Marshals, according to the federal complaint.

The complaint says Pori met with FBI agents March 16 and consented to searches of his Motorola cellphone and Dell laptop. On March 31, the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory provided forensic images of both devices to FBI agents.

Because Pori provided legal representation for multiple clients held at the Cibola County Correctional Center, investigators used a filter team to avoid reviewing privileged attorney-client communications, according to the complaint.

Federal investigators said FBI special agents later conducted a preliminary review of forensic images from Pori’s cellphone and laptop. During a review of the laptop, agents identified several images depicting suspected child sexual abuse material, according to the complaint.

Members of the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force confirmed the images identified during the preliminary review depicted CSAM, according to the complaint.

The complaint describes suspected CSAM involving prepubescent boys and girls, including children investigators estimated to be about 6 to 10 years old. One image described in the complaint allegedly involved an infant.

The complaint says the images were found as Telegram media files in cached files on Pori’s laptop. Investigators wrote that the Telegram application also was found on Pori’s cellphone and laptop.

A deputy U.S. marshal wrote in the complaint that the location of the files and the way cached images are created and retained gave investigators probable cause to believe the laptop’s user knowingly accessed and possessed the images.

The state contraband case filed in Cibola County Magistrate Court was dismissed without prejudice April 6 after the case was adopted by federal authorities for prosecution, according to a notice of dismissal filed in the state case.

The dismissal notice said the state may refile the same charges or other charges arising from the same incident later.

The federal case also prompted disciplinary proceedings before the New Mexico Supreme Court.

On March 13, Chief Disciplinary Counsel Anne L. Taylor petitioned the state Supreme Court for Pori’s summary suspension, citing the Cibola County criminal complaint and alleging that Pori attempted to bring suboxone into the prison while visiting a client.

On May 14, the Supreme Court denied the petition for summary suspension but allowed Pori to continue practicing law only under supervision while disciplinary proceedings continued.

The court also ordered that Pori could only meet with clients at a prison or jail with an approved supervising attorney and could not deliver personal items to clients during prison or jail visits.

After the federal CSAM complaint was filed, disciplinary counsel and Pori jointly asked the Supreme Court to revoke his supervised-practice status and impose summary suspension pending the outcome of the criminal case or disciplinary proceedings.

Pori is being held at the Doña Ana County Detention Center under federal jurisdiction, according to a jail booking report. He was booked June 1 by the U.S. Marshals Service, with bond listed as “no bond."

Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.