Fifth Judicial District Attorney Dianna Luce

From the Office of the Attorney General:

ROSWELL — New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas and Fifth Judicial District Attorney Dianna Luce announced that the Honorable Thomas Lilley sentenced Edward Bingham to 32 years in prison.

In announcing the sentence, Judge Lilley found that the circumstances surrounding the case were egregious and that Bingham had no remorse for his crimes.

In addition to the sentence of incarceration, Bingham will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

The case was prosecuted by the Fifth Judicial District Attorney’s Office in partnership with the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General.

“Child predators should take warning. My office will continue to tirelessly investigate and prosecute these cases to ensure that such predators will not be able to continue to exploit and harm children,” Balderas said.

“The sentence handed down today sends a message that criminals who exploit children will face severe consequences under New Mexico law. My office is committed to continuing to fight for justice for the children in our community,” Luce said.

Bingham, 45, started communicating and initiating sexual relations with the victim when she was just 14 years old. Deputies with the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office arrested Bingham after finding him with the victim in his car, in a vacant lot near the Roswell Airport. After searching Bingham’s phone, detectives found multiple images and a video of child sexual abuse materials that Bingham had requested, received, and saved from the child over the preceding week.

Attorney General Hector Balderas

Bingham was convicted in April 2022 of four counts of child sexual exploitation.

The case was investigated by the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Taylor Jaggers, Assistant Attorney General Jesse Pecoraro, and Deputy Director of the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Division Mark Probasco.