Gay porn actor Austin Wolf was arrested on June 28 in New York on charges related to child pornography. (Photo via TMZ)
In a press release Friday morning, Justin Heath Smith, AKA Austin Wolf, was arrested and announced by the U.S Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The adult film actor was charged with two counts related to child pornography. Smith was charged with one count of distribution and receipt and one count of possession.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced Friday the arrest of Smith, an adult film actor who uses the stage name “Austin Wolf.”
Smith was charged with sending and receiving hundreds of videos of child pornography via the Telegram application. Those videos 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, Smith was also charged with possessing hundreds of additional videos containing child pornography in his Manhattan apartment.
“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 victimize children and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law,” Williams said in the release.
Smith was presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky in Manhattan federal court.
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 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.”
These are the allegations contained in the Complaint:
Between March 24 and March 28, 2024, Smith, using an anonymous Telegram account, exchanged hundreds of videos containing child pornography with another individual whose phone was later seized and searched by the FBI pursuant to a search warrant.
An undercover FBI agent subsequently began a conversation with Smith’s anonymous Telegram account. In the course of those conversations, Smith revealed details that confirmed his identity.
On April 21, 2024, the FBI executed a search warrant at Smith’s Manhattan apartment, which revealed an SD card with hundreds of videos containing child pornography.
The 43 year-old porn actor was charged with one count of distribution and receipt of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of possession of child pornography, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and were provided for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Getzel Berger is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
–From staff reports