Sean-Michael Smith, a 36-year-old registered child sex offender from Jacksonville, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for accessing child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) online. Chief United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard also ordered Smith to serve a 15-year supervised release term after his incarceration and to forfeit his computer device.
Smith was previously convicted in federal court in 2014 for distributing videos and photos depicting the sexual abuse of children. He was arrested on December 18, 2024, and pleaded guilty on June 11, 2025.
While on supervised release following his earlier sentence, Smith admitted to drawing sketches of nude children and accessing the internet multiple times. On December 10, 2024, U.S. Probation Officers searched his residence. During an interview with officers, Smith acknowledged that he had accessed CSAM using the internet during August, September, and December of that year. He specified which electronic device he used for this activity. The officers seized the device and sent it along with its internal computer chip to the FBI for further investigation.
On February 18, 2025, the FBI reviewed the contents of the computer chip and found evidence that Smith had used it to access at least 35 images showing young children being sexually abused.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Jacksonville conducted the investigation into this case. Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown prosecuted it.
According to information from Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in 2006—the program coordinates federal, state, and local resources to find and prosecute individuals who exploit children sexually as well as identify victims and seek justice on their behalf. More details about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
