Appleton City Man Sentenced for Child Pornography

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Appleton City, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for sending images of child pornography to an undercover law enforcement officer.

Anthony Dale Smith, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 13 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Smith to 15 years of supervised release following incarceration. Smith will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements, which may apply throughout his life.

On Oct. 21, 2018, Smith pleaded guilty to attempting to distribute child pornography over the internet. Smith admitted that he sent images of child pornography to an undercover law enforcement officer.

Officers executed a search warrant at Smith’s residence on May 24, 2018, and seized computers and other electronic media.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine A. Connelly. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Childhood
This case was 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 . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."