TALLAHASSEE — A University of Central Florida student faces up to 280 years in prison after Attorney General James Uthmeier announced 20 criminal charges against him for possessing and transmitting child sexual abuse material and soliciting a minor online.
Joshua Smith, 21, was arrested in February on 18 counts of possession of child pornography, one count of transmission of child pornography and one count of solicitation of a child for unlawful sexual conduct via a computer device. A forensic extraction of his cellular device revealed multiple files of extremely graphic child sexual abuse material, including images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of infants.
“The possession, sale, and trade of child sexual abuse material is vile,” said Attorney General Uthmeier. “These are not victimless crimes, and our prosecutors are cracking down on this abhorrent behavior by seeking the strongest sentences allowed under Florida law.”
The investigation began when the University of Central Florida Police Department received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Smith was soliciting and downloading child sexual abuse material via his Kik accounts. A warrant executed to obtain information on all Kik accounts associated with Smith led investigators to discover additional files of child sexual abuse material, as well as communications in which Smith was attempting to solicit minors for sex acts and the purchase and trade of the material.
Senior Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Lauryn Day will prosecute the case in the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida. If convicted as charged, Smith faces up to 280 years in the Florida Department of Corrections.