CASPER, Wyo. — Kyle Smith, 33, of Sheridan, Wyoming, was sentenced on July 31 to 420 months’ imprisonment for sexual exploitation of children and attempted sexual exploitation of a child.
U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson imposed the sentence, which included 15 years of supervised release, a $200 special assessment and $3,206.67 in restitution, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office news release.
Court documents state the case originated when Internet Crimes Against Children investigators received Cybertips from both Snapchat and Instagram for accounts that were associated with the defendant. While ICAC was investigating these Cybertips, police in Mansfield, Texas, were separately investigating Snapchat accounts linked to the defendant for soliciting child pornography and sextortion.
ICAC agents obtained search warrants and discovered that Smith was messaging numerous underage girls over Snapchat and other applications. In the messages, Smith would threaten and manipulate the underage girls into producing child pornography for him.
This case was investigated by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation’s ICAC unit, the Mansfield Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Z. Seth Griswold prosecuted the case.
