Orlando, Florida - U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. yesterday sentenced Tyler Andrew Smith (23, Port Orange) to 10 years in federal prison for distributing and possessing child pornography. As part of his sentence, he was ordered to serve a 15-year term of supervision, following his release from prison, and required to register as a sex offender. The court also ordered Smith to forfeit the devices upon which he used to store the child pornography.
Smith pleaded guilty on Aug. 13, 2013.
According to court documents, on July 31, 2012, Smith used his email account to send an email containing an image of child pornography to an individual in another state. In April 2013, during an investigation into the individual in the other state, law enforcement discovered Smith's email, along with the attached pornographic image. On March 16, 2013, Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) agents interviewed Smith at his residence, in Volusia County. Smith turned over, to agents, a cellular telephone containing a memory card, a netbook computer, and an SD memory card, all three of which contained child pornography. Smith admitted to sending the email with the attached child pornography image, using email accounts and the Internet to collect and trade child pornography, and that the devices containing child pornography belonged to him. Smith was subsequently arrested. Smith’s child pornography collection included images of children less than 12 years of age being sexually abused, exploited, and being subjected to sadistic and masochistic conduct.
"Individuals who download child pornography further the victimization of innocent children who have already experienced horrific abuse," said Susan McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa. "I issue this warning to child predators - we will find you, arrest you and ensure you are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the Brevard County Sheriff's Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew C. Searle.
It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
