Source: United States Department of Justice News
AUSTIN, Texas – An Austin man was sentenced in a federal court in Austin Tuesday to five years in prison for possession of child pornography.
According to court documents, Tucker Smith, 31, had searched for, accessed, viewed, downloaded, possessed, stored, and distributed child sexual abuse material (CSAM) since approximately 2018. Smith stated that he maintained between 15 and 20 gigabytes of CSAM depicting minors ranging from two to three years old to 15-16 years old. Investigators seized and submitted approximately 904 images and 3,402 videos of suspected CSAM to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
“This sentencing sends the message that we will continue to pursue and prosecute the predators who engage in the heinous and indefensible act of possessing child sexual abuse material,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas. “Thank you to our partners at the FBI for their investigation and helping us seek justice for the dozens upon dozens of child victims exploited in this case.”
“The FBI remains steadfast in our commitment to protect children from those who seek to exploit their innocence,” said Special Agent in Charge Oliver E. Rich Jr. of the FBI San Antonio Division. “These types of cases serve as a reminder of the important role the public plays in keeping our children and communities safe by immediately reporting potential public safety threats to law enforcement.”
The FBI investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Devlin prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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