Adult film actor Justin Heath Smith, also known as Austin Wolf, has been arrested and charged with possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material online (CSAM), the Department of Justice announced Friday.
In an unsealed complaint, an FBI agent said that Smith, a 43-year-old resident of New York City, sent and received hundreds of videos containing depictions of child sexual abuse via the Telegram messaging app. The videos included footage of infants being sexually abused, the DOJ said in a news release.
Smith is well known in the world of LGBTQ adult film and has recently found a new level of fame through social media. He has nearly a million followers on X and has gained a reputation on TikTok for collaborating with popular creators.
If convicted, Smith faces a maximum of 20 years of the distribution and receipt of child pornography, and 10 years for possession of child pornography.
Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The complaint stated that in March, Smith’s anonymous Telegram account exchanged CSAM with an account that was seized and searched by the FBI. An undercover FBI agent started messaging Smith’s account, where Smith later revealed personal details, according to the complaint.
Smith ran a Telegram channel linked on one of his websites with over 12,000 subscribers.
The next month, the FBI raided Smith’s Manhattan apartment and found an SD card with child CSAM, the complaint says.
“I want to make it clear: those who distribute child sexual abuse images prey upon the most vulnerable in our society. Each image is a crime scene, leaving lasting scars on innocent victims,” said James Smith, FBI assistant director in charge. “The FBI is relentless in our pursuit of these perpetrators. We will track them down, arrest them, and ensure they face justice for the harm they cause.”
Telegram is known for being a freewheeling online environment, where content that’s been banned elsewhere can potentially be broadcast or traded with less scrutiny.
In broadcast channels, Telegram says that it will enforce rules against illegal content, but on its website, Telegram says it does not apply monitoring to any type of messaging between users.
Telegram representative Remi Vaughn said the company has moderated child abuse content since the app was created, noting that in the last month, Telegram had closed 50,000 groups and channels related to child abuse.
