Massachusetts man charged with possession of child pornography
By a Biometrica staffer
A man from Massachusetts was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography, the US Department of Justice said in a statement. Oliver Smith, 45, was charged by criminal complaint and detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for December 3 2020.
Federal agents executed a search warrant at the Sutton residence of Smith, a citizen of Sweden and the United States, and seized several devices on November 15 2020. They did so after receiving investigative information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and Swedish law enforcement authorities, and after conducting their own investigation.
A preliminary forensic review of the seized devices revealed images and videos of child pornography. Smith admitted that he had downloaded child pornography after returning to the US from Sweden, in an interview with federal agents.
Jessica Urban of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Noto of the District of Massachusetts’ Worcester Branch Office are prosecuting the case. The case is being investigated by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Boston, and the Sutton Police Department.
The case is part of Project Safe Childhood. Launched in May 2006 by the DoJ, Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by US Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children online, as well as to identify and rescue victims.