PEORIA, Ill. - A Danvers, Illinois, man, Alexander B. Smith, 23, of Kimberly Court, has been sentenced to 78 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for transfer of obscene matter to a minor. Smith is also required to register as a sex offender and pay $2,000 in restitution to the minor victim of his offense.
At the sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid, the United States presented evidence that in February and March of 2021, Smith communicated via Instagram with a girl whom he knew to be under sixteen years old. Smith sent the girl images of his penis and encouraged her to meet with him for sex. Smith met with the girl at a park and had sexual intercourse with her.
Soon after, law enforcement officers investigated and arrested Smith. A search of Smith’s phone revealed at least 21 videos and 462 images of child pornography, including children as young as about three years old.
Smith was federally indicted in September 2021, and has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. He pleaded guilty in April 2022.
The statutory penalties for transfer of obscene matter to a minor are up to 10 years imprisonment, up to a three-year term of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine.
The Illinois State Police and Bloomington Police Department investigated the case, with assistance from the Ford County State’s Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Hollingshead-Cook represented the United States in the prosecution.
The case against Smith was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
