Gay porn star Austin Wolf arrested on child pornography charges
Porn star Austin Wolf has been arrested on child pornography charges (Getty Images)
Gay porn star Austin Wolf has been charged with possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material online.
Warning: This article contains descriptions of distressing images.
Wolf, whose real name is Justin Heath Smith, was arrested on 28 June, following an investigation by the FBI, for allegedly sending and receiving “hundreds” of videos depicting crimes against children, using the messaging app Telegram.
According to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York, the videos circulated by Wolf “depicted children as young as infants, including a video showing a 10-year-old child bound and raped.”
In addition to sharing child pornography via Telegram, [43-year-old Wolf] is charged with possessing hundreds of additional videos containing child pornography,” the statement says.
Wolf appeared before judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky in a Manhattan federal court.
US attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Justin Heath Smith received and distributed hundreds of recordings containing child pornography, including a ghastly video showing a young child bound, beaten and raped.
“Our investigation into Smith is ongoing and we urge anyone with information about Smith’s conduct to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Together with our law enforcement partners, we will relentlessly pursue those predators who victimise children and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
The assistant director in charge of the New York field office of the FBI, James Smith, added: “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.”
The official complaint details that the investigation began in April, with a search conducted of the porn star’s Manhattan apartment, where an SD said to have been found, was allegedly “later discovered to contain approximately 200 videos depicting child pornography”.
The search was prompted by another Telegram user being interviewed by the FBI. After their arrest, the user allegedly told agents that a second frequently contacted Telegram user by the name of Anon Anon was in fact Wolf.
FBI agents posed as Target Telegram User-1 and gleaned information from Anon Anon.
If convicted, Smith faces up to 20 years in prison for distributing and receiving child pornography and up to 10 years for possession of child pornography.
At time of writing, neither Smith nor Telegram have commented on the arrest and allegations.
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