Austin Wolf is a prominent figure in the LGBTQ adult film industry and has recently garnered significant attention on social media platforms.
Adult film actor Justin Heath Smith, who is also known by his stage name Austin Wolf, was arrested and charged with the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online, as announced by the Department of Justice on Friday.
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According to a recently unsealed complaint, an FBI agent stated that Smith, a 43-year-old New York City resident, sent and received hundreds of videos depicting child sexual abuse through the Telegram messaging app. These videos included extremely disturbing content, such as footage of infants being sexually abused, the DOJ revealed in a press release.
Smith is a prominent figure in the LGBTQ adult film industry and has recently garnered significant attention on social media platforms. He has amassed nearly a million followers on X (formerly Twitter) and has become known on TikTok for his collaborations with popular creators.
If convicted, Smith could face a maximum sentence of 20 years for the distribution and receipt of child pornography and 10 years for possession of child pornography.
The complaint details that in March, Smith’s anonymous Telegram account exchanged CSAM with an account that was under FBI surveillance. An undercover FBI agent then began communicating with Smith’s account, during which Smith eventually disclosed personal information, according to the complaint.
Smith operated a Telegram channel, which was linked on one of his websites, boasting over 12,000 subscribers.
In April, the FBI raided Smith’s apartment in Manhattan and discovered an SD card containing child sexual abuse material, as stated in the complaint.
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James Smith, the FBI assistant director in charge, emphasized the severity of the crime: “Those who distribute child sexual abuse images prey upon the most vulnerable in our society. Each image represents a crime scene, leaving lasting scars on innocent victims. The FBI is relentless in pursuing these perpetrators. We will track them down, arrest them, and ensure they face justice for the harm they cause.”
Telegram is known for its relatively unregulated environment, where content banned on other platforms can be shared with fewer restrictions. While the platform claims to enforce rules against illegal content in public channels, it does not monitor private messages between users, according to its website.