Volusia County Man Pleads Guilty To Distribution And Possession Of Child Pornography

Orlando, Florida - Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Tyler Andrew Smith (23, Port Orange) pleaded guilty this week to one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Smith faces a maximum penalty of not less than 5 years, up to 20 years in federal prison for the distribution count, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for the possession count. A sentencing hearing has been set for November 4, 2013. Smith was indicted on June 5, 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, law enforcement discovered Smith's email with the attached child pornography image during an investigation into the individual in the other state. On March 16, 2013, federal agents went to Smith's residence in Volusia County and interviewed him. Smith turned over to agents a cellular telephone with a memory card, a netbook computer, and an SD memory card, all three of which contained child pornography. Smith admitted, among other things, that he sent the email with the attached child pornography image, that he used 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.

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 is being 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.