Ashley Nicole Smith Sentenced to 30 Years for Child Porn Production

A 30-year prison sentence has been handed down to Ashley Nicole Smith, a 41-year-old San Antonio woman, for producing and distributing child pornography using an infant victim.

According to court documents, Smith engaged in sexual assaults against a minor child on multiple occasions, starting when the child was just days old in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and continuing until the child was 18 months old. The abuse occurred between November 2019 and March 2021.

Smith produced videos of the assaults and distributed them via text messages to her boyfriend, further exacerbating the harm inflicted on the child victim. The FBI and San Antonio Police Department investigated the case, bringing it to a close with Smith’s arrest on March 4, 2021, and subsequent indictment on March 17, 2021.

On August 28, 2024, Smith pleaded guilty to the charges. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia handed down the 30-year prison sentence, ordering Smith to serve 30 years of supervised release upon completion of her imprisonment. Additionally, Smith will never be allowed contact with the victim and must pay $50,000 to the AVAA fund for victims of child exploitation trafficking offenses.

The devices used to produce the child exploitation material have been ordered forfeited. U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas announced the sentencing, crediting the collaborative efforts of law enforcement agencies in bringing the perpetrator to justice.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to 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, visit www.justice.gov/psc.