PARIS — A local man pleaded guilty Wednesday in Oxford County Superior Court to possessing child pornography.

William A. Smith II, 43, pleaded guilty to one count of Class C possession of sexually explicit material of children under 12. He must serve one year of probation and be a registered sex offender for 10 years.

According to Assistant District Attorney Joseph O’Connor, Detective David Armstrong of the Maine State Police Computer Crimes division traced downloads of child pornography to a computer at Smith’s residence.

O’Connor said a law enforcement division in Colorado recognizes computer files known to be child pornography as they’re transmitted on the Internet. It notified the Maine State Police, which served a subpoena on his Internet service provider to obtain Smith’s identity.

On March 17, 2001, state police served a search warrant at Smith’s house. O’Connor said Smith admitted to investigators that he had downloaded sexually explicit videos. He said Smith “admitted he had a curiosity and downloaded some materials he shouldn’t have downloaded.”

Police made a copy of the hard drive from Smith’s laptop, where O’Connor said they found three or four sexually explicit videos involving minors.

Because there wasn’t an excessive volume of material on Smith’s computer, and because he had a minimal criminal record, O’Connor recommended a one-year sentence, all suspended, with one year of probation, during which Smith is not allowed to use a computer or access the Internet.

He will be subject to random searches of his house to ensure he is not in violation and will be registered as a sex offender for 10 years.

treaves@sunjournal.com

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