Adult film star Austin Wolf has been arrested and is facing child pornography charges following an FBI investigation, according to the Department of Justice.
Wolf, whose real name is Justin Smith, is accused of “sending and receiving hundreds of child pornography videos through the Telegram app,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
“Let us be clear: those who distribute child sexual abuse imagery prey on some of the most vulnerable in our society. Each image is a crime scene that leaves permanent scars on innocent victims,” FBI Assistant Director James Smith said in a statement. “The FBI is relentless in pursuing these perpetrators.”
Smith, 43, was charged with one count each of distribution and receipt of child pornography, which are punishable by a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison, and possession of child pornography, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, according to prosecutors.
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Adult film actor Austin Wolf attends the 2019 GayVN Awards Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Gabe Ginsburg/Getty Images)
Prosecutors allege that the videos Smith sent and received “contained images of children as young as babies, including a 10-year-old child being bound and raped.”
“In addition to sharing child pornography through Telegram, Smith is also accused of possessing hundreds of videos containing child pornography in his Manhattan apartment,” it added.
Smith is scheduled to be arraigned today in Manhattan federal court.
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Adult film actor Austin Wolf speaks during the 2023 GayVN Awards Show at Resorts World Las Vegas on January 5, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Gabe Ginsburg/Getty Images)
Investigators said Smith used an anonymous Telegram account to exchange hundreds of videos containing child pornography with another person on the messaging platform between March 24 and 28 of this year, after the person’s phone was subsequently seized and searched by the FBI.
An undercover FBI agent then initiated chats with Smith’s anonymous Telegram account in which Smith revealed details corroborating his identity, prosecutors said.
Austin Wolf is currently facing child pornography charges as part of an FBI investigation. (Gabe Ginsburg/Getty Images)
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“On April 21, 2024, the FBI executed a search warrant at Smith’s Manhattan apartment and discovered an SD card containing hundreds of videos containing child pornography,” the attorney’s office added.
