A former detective with the Sandoval County Sheriff's Office was sentenced to six years in prison after he was caught with thousands of videos and photographs of child sexual abuse material, the New Mexico Department of Justice announced Friday.

Robert Strand, 42, pleaded no contest to charges of possessing child sexual exploitation material and multiple counts of manufacturing such material.

“It is unforgivable that these crimes were perpetrated by a law enforcement officer who had sworn to protect our communities — especially our children," Attorney General Raúl Torrez said in a statement, noting the images have been shared widely online. "Our office will not stop fighting until every one of these predators is brought to justice and every child is protected from this kind of exploitati

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