08/12/2006

Man faces child porn charges

Officials allege he downloaded, shared images

By maggie lillis

mlillis@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — An arrest warrant has been issued for a Traverse City man who allegedly distributed and promoted thousands of sexually explicit images involving children as young as 12 months old.

Two computers containing 4,074 images, as well as 33 videos and other electronic equipment were seized from the home of Jasen Todd Smith, 38, in May.

Smith faces multiple felony charges including two counts of distributing or promoting child sexually abusive activities, five counts of possessing the material and one count of using a computer to commit a crime.

Smith's involvement was discovered when a computer seized from a Hudson Valley, N.Y., residence led to an Internet protocol address registered in his name. The FBI and the International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists assisted Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Department officials with the probe.

Investigators executed a forensic examination of Smith's two computers and allegedly discovered he had been involved with downloading and sharing the images and video since 2001. He allegedly used file-sharing programs eMule and Superscript to locate and distribute material that allegedly involves children ranging in age from 12 months to about 10 years old.

If convicted, Smith could spend up to seven years in prison.