Former Canton resident extradited from Vietnam to face child pornography charges

A former Canton resident was extradited from Vietnam to face child pornography charges.

The two-count indictment was unsealed Wednesday upon the extradition of Larry P. Smith from Vietnam. Smith, 67, was indicted on one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

Smith knowingly received and distributed numerous computer filed containing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct in October 2013. On November 20, 2013, Smith possessed several laptops, an Apple computer and hard drives that contained images of prepubescent children engaged in sexual activity, according to the indictment.

Smith lived in Canton at the time of the alleged offenses, then moved to Florida prior to his indictment. He was located in Vietnam and was returned to the United States Wednesday. He is scheduled to appear in federal court later this afternoon in Seattle.

This case was investigated by the FBI and Canton Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carol M. Skutnik.

If convicted, the defendants’ sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal records, if any, the defendants’ role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations.  In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  The burden of proof is always on the government to prove a defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.