MISSOULA - A Missoula man who admitted to producing sexually explicit images of a child and downloading sexually explicit images of children from the internet was sentenced on Thursday, July 27, 2023.
U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said 29-year-old Anthony Riley Smith — who pleaded guilty in March to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child — has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release.
The court also ordered $133,560 restitution to the victim.
Prosecutors alleged in co=urt documents that in August 2021, a Missoula Police Department detective, who is a member of the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, investigated multiple CyberTips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tips related to sexually explicit images of children being uploaded online.
The investigation led to Smith. Law enforcement searched his residence pursuant to a warrant and seized electronic devices.
Investigators determined that Smith had produced child pornography of a prepubescent boy with a cellular phone, and that his desktop computer contained images of the boy engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Smith admitted he had been collecting child pornography for more than a year.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided over the sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee L. Peterson prosecuted the case. The Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Missoula Police Department and Montana Division of Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation.
