Child Exploitation

Wilton Manors Resident Sentenced to 30 Years on Child Exploitation Charges


Jeffrey H. Sloman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; and Anthony V. Mangione, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of Investigations, announced that defendant Scott Joseph Smith, 50, of Wilton Manors, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas to 360 months' imprisonment and a life-long term of supervised release.

On January 28, 2010 the defendant plead guilty to charges of production of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2251(a), 2252(a)(2), and 2252(a)(4)(B).

According to court documents, an undercover FBI agent downloaded numerous images and video files depicting child pornography from Smith’s computer via a peer-to-peer file sharing program. A search warrant was executed at Smith’s place of business. A forensic review of Smith’s computer by ICE special agents revealed numerous images and video files depicting child pornography. Further investigation by the FBI revealed that Smith sexually molested several minor victims at multiple locations in Broward County and Palm Beach County and recorded one instance of molestation via a digital camera.

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.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, ICE’s Office of Investigations in Miami, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, and members of the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Strider Dickson.