PEORIA, Ill. – An East Peoria, Illinois, man, Noah Joseph Smith, 37, of the 100 block of Regent Court, was sentenced on March 23, 2022, to 12 years and seven months in prison for possession of child pornography, to be followed by a life term of supervised release. No fine was imposed, but Smith is required to pay $23,000 in restitution.
At the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence that a U.S. Probation Officer discovered an LG smart phone on Smith’s bed during a March 2021 visit to his home. The phone had not been reported as was required under the conditions of supervised release that Smith was required to abide by following a prior conviction for receipt of child pornography. An investigation subsequently revealed that Smith possessed numerous videos and images of child pornography.
Also at the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid emphasized that the possession and distribution of images of child pornography cause the children depicted in the images to experience long-lasting negative effects. He explained that “those who think these are victimless crimes could not be farther from the truth.”
Judge Shadid found that Smith had a history of committing crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children. In 2007, Smith was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse after he placed a cloth soaked in ether over a child’s mouth and then sexually abused the child. Judge Shadid also noted that Smith’s 2008 conviction for receipt of child pornography and that Smith had begun supervised release in that case only months before he was again arrested in 2021 for possession of child pornography.
Smith was indicted for possession of child pornography in April 2021 and pleaded guilty in September 2021.
Smith also admitted to violations pertaining to his supervised release. He was sentenced to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons for 24 months, to run concurrent with his sentence in the instant case.
“We will vigorously prosecute those who prey upon children,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris. “I commend the United States Secret Service and Peoria County Sheriff’s Office for the investigation in this case, as well as the United States Probation Office for bringing the matter to the attention of law enforcement.”
The statutory penalties for possession of child pornography are a mandatory 10 to 20 years imprisonment with a qualifying prior conviction; a maximum $250,000 fine; a maximum lifetime term of supervised release; a mandatory $100 special assessment or a special assessment of $5,000 under 18 U.S.C. §3014, if not indigent; and a $17,000 special assessment under 18 U.S.C.§2259A.
The United States Probation Office, United States Secret Service, and Peoria County Sheriff’s Office, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Hollingshead-Cook represented the government in the prosecution.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. 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.