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Press Release

Syracuse Woman Sentenced for Sexually Exploiting 10-Year-Old Child

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of New York
She Distributed Child Pornography Images via Text Messaging

 

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - Kerry Smith, 42, of Syracuse was sentenced today following her earlier plea of guilty to sexual exploitation of a child, announced Acting United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and FBI Special Agent in Charge Vadim Thomas.

Chief U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby sentenced Smith to serve 180 months (15 years) in federal prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. Smith will also be required to register as a sex offender.

In her earlier guilty plea, Smith admitted that in 2014 she engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a 10-year-old child, produced images of the abuse, and distributed the images to an individual known to her by using a texting application on her cellular telephone. Smith was arrested for this activity in April of 2016 when the images were recovered from a computer belonging to that individual, Jason Kopp, who told police he had received them from a woman he knew as “Kerry.” Kopp is currently serving a 235-year sentence for the exploitation of other children.

Smith’s case was investigated by the Albany Division of the FBI - Syracuse Resident Agency, and the New York State Police, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Fletcher, Project Safe Childhood Coordinator for the Northern District of New York.

Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.

Updated August 10, 2017

Topic
Project Safe Childhood