William Richard Smith, Child Pornography, Kentucky 2020

Lawrenceburg Man Convicted of Child Pornography Charges

William Richard Smith, a 48-year-old resident of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, was convicted of receiving, distributing, and possessing child pornography, federal authorities announced Wednesday.

A federal jury in Frankfort convicted Smith of seven counts of receipt, one count of distribution, and one count of possession of visual depictions involving minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

According to testimony at trial, Smith distributed 25 child pornographic videos to an investigator with the Kentucky Office of Attorney General's Cyber Crimes Branch, who was performing an undercover investigation using an online peer-to-peer network.

After identifying Smith as the individual who distributed these images, a search warrant was executed on Smith's residence, during which several electronic devices were seized. Evidence from the forensic examination of those devices revealed that, in addition to distributing child pornography, Smith possessed 1,622 sexually explicit visual depictions of minors as of the date of the search warrant and had been receiving those visual depictions using a peer-to-peer network since May 2016.

Smith was indicted in February 2019 and will appear for sentencing on April 1, 2020. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each count, but the Court must consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the applicable federal sentencing statutes before imposing a sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the Kentucky OAG Cyber Crimes Branch and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The U.S. Attorney's Office was represented in the case by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Marye and Mary Melton.

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Andy Beshear, Kentucky Attorney General, jointly announced the conviction.

William Richard Smith's exact criminal charges include: seven counts of receipt, one count of distribution, and one count of possession of visual depictions involving minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Smith's case is a stark reminder of the devastating impact of child pornography on its victims and the importance of holding perpetrators accountable for their crimes.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edky/pr/lawrenceburg-man-convicted-receipt-distribution-and-possession-child-pornography