Image Courtesy Meta: Chris Saiz was sentenced to lifetime sexual offender probation on two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. He will also have to spend 1 year in jail.
Admission but no physical evidence leads to a lesser charge
By Jon Johnson
CLIFTON – Chris P. Saiz, 56, a longtime, trusted, and beloved public servant through his many years on the volunteer Clifton Fire Department and other community events, has been sentenced to 1 year in jail followed by lifetime sexual offender probation for two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
According to his plea agreement, Saiz pleaded guilty to two amended counts of sexual exploitation of a minor – both class-2 felonies. However, they do not have the designation of being a “dangerous crime against children” or a “repetitive crime.” Those designations determine the difference in sentencing schedules. As they are, however, the counts each carry a presumptive sentence of 5 years in prison, with a possible mitigated minimum sentence of 3 years and a maximum aggravated sentence of 12.5 years.
Saiz’s plea agreement stipulates that “if the court sentences the Defendant to prison, the length of the sentence shall not exceed the presumptive term of 5 years” with all other sentencing terms at the court’s discretion. The only other requirement is that Saiz be required to register as a sex offender. That means Greenlee County Superior Court Judge Jeremy O. Ford had the sentencing guideline of sending Saiz to prison for up to 5 years.
Given that, on Monday, Judge Ford weighed the evidence before him as well as letters of support – including at least one from a school teacher – and chose to sentence Saiz to lifetime sexual offender probation on each count, with 1 year of jail time on count two. Saiz will be allowed to spend his year in jail at the Greenlee County Jail.
Saiz was arrested on Sept. 19, 2023, after law enforcement received a tip from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program (ICAC) that someone in Saiz’s household had downloaded an image of child pornography. According to its website, the ICAC is a “national network of 61 coordinated task forces, representing over 5,400 federal, state, and local law enforcement, dedicated to investigating, prosecuting, and developing effective responses to internet crimes against children.”
The image in question was downloaded on June 15, 2022, at 11 p.m. Microsoft Online Operations flagged it and then went from ICAC to the Greenlee County Sheriff’s Office in January 2023. The head investigator reported beginning work on this case in July 2023.
According to a Greenlee County Sheriff’s Office report, an investigator examined the photograph that had been downloaded and determined it showed nude images of two pre-pubescent girls – one between 6-8 years old and the other between 10-12 years old – both of whom were using implements to penetrate their genital areas.
After initially denying knowledge of the photograph and saying he only looked at normal pornography, Saiz allowed an investigator to look through his cell phone and advised he didn’t use any other electronic devices at his residence off McCormick Canyon Road. The cell phone had an adult pornography page involving bondage and anal sex recently viewed but no child pornography. The phone’s browser history had recently been deleted just a few days prior.
However, the situation changed when Saiz’s wife arrived home and advised he liked to use his phone as well as a tablet that he kept under the bathroom sink in “his bathroom” in the hallway.
Under the sink, an investigator found a Microsoft Surface tablet next to a stack of “Playboy” magazines. At that time, Saiz allegedly admitted to searching for “pre-teen” pornography “more than a dozen times” and that he did so for sexual gratification. He also allegedly admitted to downloading the initial picture that brought law enforcement to his door.
However, Greenlee County Attorney’s Office Chief Deputy County Attorney Stephen K. Lundell told the Gila Herald that while Greenlee County “Investigator Foster and the Greenlee County Sheriff’s Office did an excellent job during their investigation and search. Unfortunately, while the state could prove that one image of child pornography was downloaded at Mr. Saiz’s residence, no child pornography was recovered from the search.”
“Given this situation, the county attorney and I decided to extend a probation-eligible offer. This means that if Mr. Saiz were placed on probation, he would be watched under sex offender terms while also registering as a sex offender.”
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