(Photo from Austin Wolf’s Instagram)
Gay adult film star Justin Heath Smith, better known by his stage name Austin Wolf, was arrested and charged in the Southern District of New York June 28 for distribution of child pornography.
Smith, 43, is charged with sending and receiving hundreds of videos of child pornography via the messenger app Telegram.
“I want to make it clear: those who distribute child sexual abuse images prey upon the most vulnerable in our society,” said James Smith, the assistant director in charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in a press release. “Each image is a crime scene, leaving lasting scars on innocent victims. 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.”
According to the allegations contained in the complaint, Smith, using an anonymous Telegram account, exchanged hundreds of videos containing child pornography with another individual from March 24-28. The individual’s phone was later seized and searched by the FBI in accordance to a search warrant.
Following the exchange, Smith began a conversation with an undercover FBI agent who confirmed Smith’s identity. Agents executed a search warrant on Smith’s New York on April 21. According to the complaint, the search turned up an SD card with hundreds of videos containing child pornography.
Smith is with one count of distribution and receipt of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of possession of child pornography, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
“As alleged, Justin Heath Smith received and distributed hundreds of recordings containing child pornography, including a ghastly video showing a young child bound, beaten, and raped,” said Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement. “Our investigation into Smith is ongoing, and we urge anyone with information about Smith’s conduct to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Together with our law enforcement partners, we will relentlessly pursue those predators who victimize children and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
