Adult film actor “Austin Wolf” was arrested Friday on charges of sending and receiving hundreds of child pornography videos over the Telegram messaging app.
Justin Heath Smith, 43, who used “Austin Wolf” as his stage name, was charged with one count of distribution and receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged that the videos sent and received by Mr. Smith “depicted children as young as infants.”
“I want to make it clear: those who distribute child sexual abuse images prey upon the most vulnerable in our society. Each image is a crime scene, leaving lasting scars on innocent victims,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith said in a statement.
“The FBI is relentless in our pursuit of these perpetrators. We will track them down, arrest them, and ensure they face justice for the harm they cause,” he added.
According to the indictment, between March 24 and March 28, Mr. Smith allegedly used an anonymous Telegram account to trade hundreds of child pornography videos with another individual.
The FBI later seized the phone of the person with whom Mr. Smith had allegedly been exchanging videos. An undercover FBI agent then contacted Mr. Smith’s anonymous account and confirmed his identity.
On April 21, the FBI conducted a search warrant of his Manhattan apartment and found a digital memory card with “hundreds of videos containing child pornography.”
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said the investigation into the case is still ongoing and urged anyone with information regarding Mr. Smith’s actions to call the FBI.
Mr. Smith could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the charges, according to the DOJ.
Meanwhile, the DOJ said on June 27 that a former owner of a Bronx children’s daycare facility was sentenced to 25 years in jail for producing child pornography with a minor victim who was under his watch.
Silfredo Castillo Martinez, 34, was also sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release. The DOJ stated that Mr. Martinez operated the licensed daycare facility at his residence from July 2015 to May 2022.
Between May 2018 and July 2018, Mr. Martinez allegedly induced an 11-year-old minor who attended his daycare facility into engaging in “sexually explicit conduct” with him.
Authorities conducted a search warrant at his house on May 3, 2022, and seized several electronic devices, which contained the victim’s video and images. The devices also contained 9,800 other images depicting child pornography, according to the DOJ.
