January 14, 2015

Sapulpa Man Sentenced to 17 Years for Possessing and Distributing Child Pornography

TULSA, OK—A Sapulpa man was sentenced to serve 210 months in prison, to be followed by lifetime supervised release, today for possessing and distributing child pornography, United States Attorney Danny C. Williams Sr. for the Northern District of Oklahoma announced. A FBI undercover online operation discovered a total of 290 images and 143 videos of child pornography on the defendant’s computer.

“Child pornography is a heinous crime against children and those who participate in online exploitation will be prosecuted,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “My office is committed to safeguarding our communities. We will continue to protect the most vulnerable in our community from exploitation and sexual abuse.”

Kevin Leroy Smith, 50, was charged on July 9, 2014, with eight counts of distribution and attempted distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. A jury found Smith guilty of all counts on September 16, 2014.

During the investigation, while using an Ares based Peer to Peer program (P2P), the FBI was able to download 14 videos and two images of child pornography from January and February 2014 from another user. The FBI tracked the username to Smith.

In addition to the sentence of incarceration of 210 months, Smith was fined $25,000 and ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution and a $900 special assessment.

United States District Judge John E. Dowdell presided over the sentencing. The case was investigated by the FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Gallant for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

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 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 www.justice.gov/psc.