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To prove he didn't knowingly smuggle an opioid into a New Mexico prison in March, an sa国际传媒官网网页入口 criminal defense lawyer agreed to open up his cellphone and computer files to FBI scrutiny.

As a result, longtime attorney Brian Pori now faces a more serious charge: possession of child pornography. Late Friday, the New Mexico Supreme Court suspended his license to practice law, at least temporarily.

The latest developments came after federal investigators searching for evidence of Pori's alleged drug trafficking involvement made a startling discovery on Pori's Dell laptop computer: dozens of video images of prepubescent children in sexual acts with adult males and multiple sexual images of naked or partially clothed men with children, according to a criminal complaint filed May 21 in U.S. District Court in sa国际传媒官网网页入口.

Pori is set for a detention hearing in Las Cruces on Tuesday after an initial appearance  last week before U.S. Magistrate Judge Damian Mart铆nez on the federal child pornography charge. Attempts to reach his attorneys weren't successful Friday.

It's another twist of fate for Pori, who first came under law enforcement scrutiny March 11 while making a routine visit to see criminal defendant clients at the Cibola County Correctional Facility near Milan, west of sa国际传媒官网网页入口.

At the time, Pori said in court records, he was winding down his 38-year career as a defense attorney and former assistant federal public defender representing indigent defendants. He is a graduate of Yale Law School.

Before he arrived at the prison, Pori contended a client's relative had asked him to deliver a pair of eyeglasses the client needed for reading.

But corrections officers searching Pori's belongings discovered a stash of Suboxone, a medicine used to treat opioid addiction, sewn into the lining of the glasses case.

Pori was subsequently arrested and jailed overnight in a segregated room of the facility before being released on a state charge of smuggling contraband into the prison.

He claimed he was an unwitting dupe in the trafficking conspiracy. The smuggling charge was later dismissed by the 13th Judicial District Attorney's Office. But state prosecutors referred the case to the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI, which has been investigating drug trafficking inside the prison.

Pori signed a consent to search his cellphone and computer, as requested by the FBI, court records show. The investigators included an FBI task force officer investigating drug distribution and the introduction of contraband into the correctional facility.

On March 31, the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory provided forensic images of what was found showing images of "suspected child sexual abuse material." 

Most of the children in the images appeared to be between 6 and 10 years old, the complaint stated.

The preliminary review showed the images came from Telegram, a messaging app that transmits communications and attached media files over the internet. The app had been downloaded onto Pori's cellphone and laptop, stated the criminal complaint. 

An assistant U.S. attorney at Pori's initial appearance on the pornography charge June 2 told the court "there are no identified victims," according to court records.

The smuggling charge carried a maximum three-year prison sentence upon conviction, compared to a maximum sentence of up to 20 years for federal child pornography possession, depending on the age of the children.

The New Mexico Supreme Court on May 14 agreed not to summarily suspend Pori's license to practice law, as requested by the counsel for the state Disciplinary Board. Instead, the court required Pori to be supervised by another attorney.

But on Monday, after Pori's federal arrest, the state Disciplinary Board filed a new petition seeking a summary suspension of his law license. The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the suspension pending further proceedings before the disciplinary board.

Since his arrest on the federal charge in Fort Worth, Texas, Pori has been held in federal custody.