Casey Lee Smith, a 48-year-old resident of Evansville, has been sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison for distributing sexually explicit material involving minors. After his release, Smith will be subject to 10 years of supervised release.
The case began in January 2022 when the Evansville Police Department received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tip reported that Smith had uploaded 16 files containing child sexual abuse material to the instant messaging application Kik. The video files included depictions of prepubescent children, some under twelve years old, and acts of sadistic or masochistic conduct.
A search of Smith’s cellphone revealed 95 images and videos depicting child sexual abuse material that he had accessed and viewed. Some files involved infants. Investigators also found that Smith failed to disclose his use of Kik on his annual sex offender registration form as required by law.
Smith has been a registered sex offender since 2003 due to previous felony convictions for Child Exploitation and Possession of Child Pornography.
“This dangerous criminal used Kik to share the horrific abuse of the most vulnerable victims,” said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Those who gather online to revel in the exploitation of children will be identified and prosecuted. I am grateful to the FBI and the Evansville Police Department for their work to ensure that this defendant will serve a significant prison sentence, where our children will be out of his reach.”
“The exploitation of children is among the most heinous crimes we investigate. Every file this defendant shared represented the ongoing abuse of a real child,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley. “He chose to traffic in the sexual abuse of children, and now he will spend years behind bars, unable to harm our communities. Let this serve as a warning: if you exploit children in any way, the FBI and our law enforcement partners will find you and ensure you face the full consequences of your actions.”
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Evansville Police Department. U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young imposed Smith’s sentence.
Assistant United States Attorney Todd S. Shellenbarger prosecuted the case.
This prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at fighting child sexual exploitation online through collaboration between federal, state, and local agencies nationwide (https://www.justice.gov/psc).
