Martin D. Smith, Child Pornography, Missouri 2023

A St. Charles County man has been sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison for possessing child pornography.

Martin D. Smith, 58, of St. Peters, Missouri, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Thursday for the charge of possessing child pornography.

According to a plea agreement, Smith possessed 2,561 images and 13 videos containing child pornography on his OnePlus cellular telephone, a Samsung cellular telephone and an Alcatel tablet.

The investigation began with an August 21, 2020 tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Smith was uploading multiple files containing child pornography.

Smith later admitted viewing and downloading child pornography from the internet, and said he had been doing so for a year and a half.

The case was investigated by the St. Charles County Cyber Crime Task Force and the FBI, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson prosecuting the case.

Smith's sentencing is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmo/pr/missouri-man-sentenced-5-12-years-prison-child-pornography