Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - 'Grandpa' Busted for Using AI to Make Child Porn

Episode Date: July 1, 2026

State agents searched Richard Gallagher's home in Albuquerque, New Mexico in December 2025 after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about Child Sex Abuse Material or CSAM. Agents said Gallagher admitted to creating the images. Now, Gallagher has pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation charges. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy goes through newly-released footage of Gallagher's interaction with police and the search of his home in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5CRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, Mr. Gallagher, do you have keys from the safe in your bedroom? A tip about disgusting images involving children leads police to a grown man. Like I said, no judgment here. None. I'll take you inside the search of this Air Force Veterans home and what police said they found. Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Annette Levy. Richard Gallagher. He is a man who is 68 years old and he has. has found himself in a world of trouble in New Mexico. He was picked up on charges related to disturbing images of children.

Police said that Gallagher admitted to making images with AI, and he's facing prison time. What's that? Go ahead and step out for us real quick. Why? We'll explain to you. Is there a lock on here? No, but it falls down. He falls down?

Yeah. Okay. Okay. I don't have my teeth. Okay, well, we'll talk to you in a bit. Can you go to the officer right there since that side's open, please? Okay. Thank you. Just hold tight. We'll get everything for you.

Now that was on the morning of December 9th, 2025, after police got a tip about Gallagher from the National Center for missing and exploited children. That tip came in three months earlier in September, but the New Mexico Attorney General's office said agents spent time tracking the IP address associated with the tip and conducting. surveillance and it all came back to Richard Gallagher. An agent said that Synchronos Technologies, a cloud storage service, submitted the tip to Nick Mick about a user possessing child sex abuse material. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.

That's okay. We'll talk to you a bit. Can you go to the officer right there since that side's open, please? Okay. Thank you. Just hold tight. We'll get everything for you. It sucks because it has the ground secure as well.

Uh, you know. I think that me old. We're here to put the safe. Anything else in your pocket in the focus? No. Well, I had with my coffee and I did look my tip. I don't have my lighter. Oh, sorry, I just wanted to see if I have my lighter.

No. I don't know. He didn't have my phone, please? Oh, okay. He didn't have my phone, please? No, not right now. He didn't have keys on him, right? You didn't have keys on him, right?

Yeah, then coming through the back might be easier rather than escorting him back into the house. The agents have Gallagher's phone, which will be very important in this investigation. After he's led out, other agents move in to search the house. the house. To the right it just there's a counter and then it looks like another room I know if that's a living room or what that is but it goes deeper past the bathroom. Place department anybody inside let yourself be known. Get you. Hold on sure if you did it. Okay. Yeah the team. Go ahead and go ahead and left. So I'm going to

check couch in that whole area. Clear over here. Clear over here. Police department. Presidents, make your presence no. The closets I don't know. So Dennis and Cass just went into the garage. And if you want to unlock that front door, Mitch, got you.

Search war. Now these agents were in the house for a while. They described it as cluttered. Take a look. It was after 7 a.m., and the agents and officers spent a lot of time in this house collecting electronics and other evidence. Now, I get the feeling watching this, that the officer knows that they have their work cut out for them as they execute the search warrant looking for electronics and other evidence of child sex abuse material. Well, we can triage that at least. There's a lot to go through in this house.

And while the detectives are inside sizing everything up, Richard Gallagher is outside wondering what? What could be behind the search of his home? Way more control. You know your stuff off? Yeah. Without my teeth, I'm not up right. No, I didn't think you were. We would start off different because not every person reacts to the same.

Exactly. Mine's just on because it starts to reach me a little bit more. That's right through the jacket on top of the hoodie. Yeah, I mean, it's not horrible out here, but it's not like. No. Actually, the sun started coming back out, dude. The sun went away for a little bit. You got chipped.

Cloud cover. Cooled it off a little. Yeah, it did, dude. kept it on for you know what I thought you guys were before I thought it was ice because some of them wild things more humorous than anything videos that made oh yeah anti-fashioned oh no yeah no no not our scope at all i never liked him sure we always knew he was a i understand yeah see that's a that's a scam i always wanted to understand because that's the scam one of the biggest in the world.

And it's a romance scam that he's pulling on everybody. First, he tries to separate you, because one of the first things they do a romance scammer, if they meet you on a public site, is they try to get you alone. Because we don't want you to be able to chat with other people. They want you alone. You have a telegram.

The new one that they've been going, to Zangy. And I went and I looked at that. What a crappy site that. I wouldn't even go on it. But it used to be, not Gmail. In Gmail is a place that you can talk, that you can chat. Google chat.

Oh, okay. And that used to be the one that all the Nigerian yonahua boys to try to lift your phone. Yeah. So a minute somebody would say that, I go, no, you're a stamp. Yes. And now it's Zangy.

Yeah, that's maybe. It's on Google Play. And I sent them notes as well. Why do you carry this stuff? Yeah. There's always an angle. These agents have told Gallagher that targeting online content that calls out ICE online is definitely not what they do. Then Gallagher changes the subject.

It was only the second point. It was supposed to be coming in and Edward was all socked in. Yeah. bad weather, bad weather, so they finally landed home. That was so cool. That is pretty awesome. Yeah. I broke a lot of rules because it was like all these dignitaries coming in and they needed like

plate equipment. And I didn't want them not to go through the red tape so I got everything out, but I got everything back. Richard Gallagher is just shooting the breeze with the police as they search his house, but they say he admitted to doing a lot more than breaking some rules back in the day. In fact, police say Richard Gallagher wasn't just making small talk that day in December. They said he also made several damning admissions. An agent wrote in an arrest warrant,

Mr. Gallagher was provided with information regarding the investigation related to an internet crimes against children's cybertip. Mr. Gallagher stated that he, quote, scam hunts online, which involves creating fake profiles and visiting dating sites to look for scammers. Mr. Gallagher said that he would, typically make himself look different on his profiles, such as slimming himself down or giving himself abdominals. Mr. Gallagher did admit that he had images of himself that would show his genitalia. The agent says that Gallagher then revealed more information. The agent continued,

The affiant informed Mr. Gallagher that the cybertip was from synchronous, which is a cloud service, and that there were reports of child sex abuse material from his account. Mr. Gallagher stated that he did not know he had the cloud. The affiant asked Mr. Gallagher if investigators would find any images of new children on his devices. Mr. Gallagher responded, you might. Mr. Gallagher said that those images were from a long time ago and that they were mostly just AI. The affiant asked Mr. Gallagher if the images of the new children provided him with sexual gratification and Mr. Gallagher responded, yeah, I guess so. Mr. Gallagher said that he had not been content for very long and that he was just lonely. Now let's get back to part of Richard Gallagher's talk with the agents

where he's telling stories about his Air Force days. I got out bad. I got called up the commander's call. And this guy, the colonel, he'd known me in Han. I've never lost a strike, but, well, you know, get a little wild out. Yeah. And by this time, I was a short time, so my hair was kind of out of rigs, my mustache was out of rig, and I got a mustache was out of rig, and I got a plaque from NASA. Oh, nice. Wow. Very cool. And, you know, he says about all this stuff, you know, you think, and then he says, to me aside, he goes, I don't want to know how you got this, but good job.

Yeah, that's cool. I always remember. You got a quick minute. Give me, like, two minutes. I don't know if you ever saw, I think it was a movie called Zulu Dawn. Uh-uh. And the Zulus are all attacking the English, right? And this guy is like, you know, they're trying to get guns, the soldiers and stuff.

Oh, you have to have your form, blah, blah, blah. Yeah. And they got wiped out eventually because of that. And that's what came to mind on a much smaller scale. Nobody was going to die. Sure. But, like I said, I cut all the red tape, got all the stuff out, but got everything back. some of these people just wanted to dress up.

Yeah. Then the talk turns to some of Gallagher's activity online, and he wonders if someone might have been impersonating him. That's another thing I always ask you online, the different girls. Can I see your car? And I think what people would do is not realize to take a picture of their car,

and you can see that license plate, And then you can track you like that. So if I do take a picture, I would go in and walk out the license place. Sure. And that's like even if I took a picture of my house, I'd walk out my numbers. Oh, that's smart, yeah. Got to protect yourself. But myself was out there, so I don't know if somebody ghosted me.

Yeah. Cloned me, actually, a good term, a clone. Because, like I said, on Facebook, they did one time. Really? Yeah. In fact, they start a fake profile of you? Oh, yeah. Wow.

And because a half-brother that I don't know that well in New Jersey, they contacted him and they were asking for money. And he called my brother in Texas. And I asked me for money. Dennis got me in the home right away. And we went after the site. You know, because I found it. messenger.

And then I reported it to Facebook and Facebook said, it doesn't seem like to say anything wrong here. So that was another reason why I was saying, it's time for me to stop this. Sure. Yeah, I don't do Facebook. I just, like if you go, I didn't for a long time and now I post, like, the videos and photos that I make.

Oh, okay. People are stressed, and it's like I call it the moment of Zen. Sure. So there you heard it. Richard Gallagher says he posts videos that he makes online, but also wondered whether someone might impersonate him. As this conversation continues, another agent has a question. Hey, Mr. Gallagher, do you have keys for the safe in your bedroom? No, we haven't been able to get into that in 20 years. Okay, perfect. Thank you. We're able to get the safe for 20 years. All of those. So that's a different story. Now, if you want to get in those, I would say we seize them, and then we get them to them later.

Because I wouldn't call out a locksmith for that. Once you get past the weight of the... Might be some in there? Because I can fill it. Yeah. The handle like... Yeah. I don't know. I mean, that's your call if you want to take that stuff or not, but...

Yeah, absolutely. The agents continue searching the house. The hall is in here. Where are they whole? Um, Catherine had come across some homemade CDs. As long as there's CDs and not DVDs? Oh, but there's pictures there. And when there's like homemade, um...

I think we seize those. Seize these? Yeah, especially because some of them say pictures. Reading pro fix. Okay, and then what about... We had like homemade VHS tapes. He might be able to preview it. He has a little CD or DVD and what about that?

And there's a team more behind you. So the only problem we had last time with those was we had no way of getting a VHS. Angelo tried for months and months and months to get a hold of VHS. Okay. Is there a bunch of them or is it just... There's four.

Maybe they've seen to. I say we seize them just in case. We may just have to purchase a VHS. I mean, I'm sure we can find one somewhere. We just thought about whether or not we could have. Yeah, I mean, I think we'd seize them at least give it a try. Just to be on the safe side. Back outside, Richard Gallagher continues chatting with the cops.

Then I had one of these little tiny things. A friend of mine had both of me, but I couldn't hook it up there because I couldn't hook it up to a monitor. My monitor's too old. Oh, shoot. I was going to get, I just thought it was so cold. And I'm a mouse guy. Oh, okay, sure.

Yeah, trying to do the track. That is, even on my laptops, I have a mouse for all of them. That's why I sit up there once a week, you know, on a day. Sure. It should be wrapping up here shortly and should be out of your hair. You appreciate the cooperation, though. All you guys have been very professional.

Nice. But I still feel like a fool. Like I said, no judgment here. None. Kept it on for a little long time. I thought it was ice because of some of the... Well, they're more humorous than anything videos that made. Oh, yeah.

Anti-fashioned video. Oh, no. Yeah, no. No, not our scope at all. Not, but I never liked him when I was a kid. We always knew he was a... I understand. Yep.

Now, see, that's a scam I always wanted a monster. Because he's the biggest scam, one of the biggest in the world. And it's a romance scheme that he's pulling on everybody. First, he tries to separate you because one of the first things they do a romance scam, if they meet you on a public site, is they try to get you alone. Because they don't want you to be, able to chat with other people. They want you alone.

So they go to Telegram or they the new one that they've been going to Zangy. Huh. And I went and I looked at what a crappy site that is and I wouldn't even go on it. But it used to be

not Gmail. In Gmail there's a place that you can talk that you can chat. Google chat. And that used to be the one that all the Nigerian Yahoo! trying to get your phone. Yeah. So the minute somebody would say that,

I go, you're standing. Yeah. And now it's Zangy. Huh. I haven't even heard of Zengi. Yeah, that's, it's on Google Play.

And, like, I sent them notes as it. Where do you carry this stuff? Yeah. It's always an angle. Yep. But it's always the same script. Once, when I was first starting out,

I actually took investment. a tip for one of these scams. Really? What I was done on it? Lost some money on it? Yeah. Well, I didn't go through them. I called my person and said,

it was like a penny stock. I would lost about a hundred bucks on this. Oh, okay. But it was a lesson. And then they were all mad because I went out to put it off my mom. Yeah, it could be way worse than a $100 lesson. After the police are done, executing the warrant, they walked Richard Gallagher back to his house.

Oh, there. Oh, that's my house, too. Caloration, three hours. I've got my little weirdness. And again, since I can't get a hold of you with the phone number you provided, I may have to come back in person and just talk to you. I'm trying to like what the number is because I have a landline. Okay.

Well, if you call my phone. a cell phone from the line line? Just let me know that back to you and then. Yeah, I was just going to get rid of that recently, too. Okay. Well, thank you, Mr. Gallagher. You as well. The investigation continued, and the officer said they found vile images

that I'm not going to describe for you here. It's just too graphic, among other things. The agent wrote, The affiant manually previewed Mr. Gallagher's phone, which was a black Samsung and a black case. The image that special agents Zwebel located was in the photos application on the device, and the picture was a white background with a prepubescent female child fully nude. The child appeared to be heavily modified

with inconsistent facial proportions related to the body, irregular edges. The affiant asked Mr. Gallagher how he was making the images of the children nude, and Mr. Gallagher said that he was using an app called AI mirror. Mr. Gallagher said that he was getting the original image of the child off the internet but did not provide a specific site a month later the agents returned to take richard galliger into custody how rachel mr galliger you know i just checked us today yeah brady i just do i just do it put the head back okay can i just lock up my house we'll get it we'll take care of all that we'll take care of it oh i have to call lizzie vunker That's my lawyer.

Ow, that kind of hurts. I've never had some people. We'll get them double locks here. You're just got double lock please so they don't get any tighter on you, okay? Okay. You know where your house keys are? Well, actually the front door is locked the back door isn't. Okay, but you need house keys to lock them?

Yeah, they're in my pocket. Okay, we'll get them, we'll get them. Okay. We're gonna get your, we'll get your, uh, keys out your pocket, okay? But let's just go ahead and step over here, this vehicle. this vehicle and we'll get your keys and we'll get your house on up there okay okay why I just checked on that nice that we're gonna go on my own I'd really like to put my

shoes on okay well do you have shoes on yeah I mean once you get over to and we say they're down to give you our shoes oh my god let's get over here Sweeney we're gonna patch you down too real quick I don't wait so. You go ahead and sort of, do you get anything on you here? Stick me up with that one? My teeth in my pocket. I got all kinds of, no, I'll call up.

Step over here for him? Well, he just. All right up, I guess, here. Elliger was charged with 12 felony counts of sexual exploitation of a child for using AI to make the child pornography. This week, he actually pleaded guilty to six of those charges. He faces five years in prison. years in prison when he's sentenced he remains in jail pending sentencing his sentencing date

has not yet been set but we'll keep an eye on it for you that's it for this episode of crime fix i'm angianette levy thanks so much for being with me i'll see you back here next time