Franklin Man Convicted Of Producing Child Pornography

          CONCORD, N.H. – Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced that late on Friday (April 7, 2017), a federal jury found Brad Smith, age 33, of Franklin, New Hampshire, guilty of six counts of producing child pornography after a three-day trial.

          Evidence presented at trial showed that in January of 2016, law enforcement officers in Lafayette, Louisiana received a tip that an email address associated with the defendant was distributing child pornography. Officers traced the email address to a farm in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, where the defendant was living at the time. With the defendant’s consent, officers conducted an analysis of a hard drive owned by the defendant and uncovered a series of videos apparently created by the defendant. The investigation determined that the defendant had filmed himself engaging in multiple sexual acts with a three-and-half-year-old child in Loudon, New Hampshire. The defendant saved the videos to a hard drive and took them with him to Louisiana.

          Acting United States Attorney Farley commended the jury’s verdict, saying “The evidence in this trial demonstrated that the defendant committed horrific acts upon a defenseless young child. Even more terribly, he filmed these acts in order to create child pornography. The United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to prosecute individuals who steal the innocence of young victims. I commend the performance of the law enforcement officers and prosecutors whose work secured this conviction. I hope that the jury’s verdict provides some comfort to the victim and the victim’s family.”

          Sentencing is scheduled for July 18, 2017.

          The investigation in this case was led by Homeland Security Investigations in Lafayette, Louisiana and Manchester, New Hampshire, the Louisiana State Police, and the Concord, New Hampshire Police Department with the assistance of the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Seth Aframe and Georgiana Konesky.

          In February 2006, the Department of Justice introduced Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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