Jackson County Sex Offender Indicted for Receiving, Distributing and Possessing Child Pornography

Tallahassee, Florida - Trent James Smith, 25, of Marianna, Florida, has been federally charged with two counts of receiving child pornography, two counts of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography involving prepubescent children. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the charges.

Smith appeared in federal court for his arraignment before United States Magistrate Judge Martin A. Fitzpatrick in Tallahassee, Florida. Trial has been set for December 14, 2026, before United States District Court Judge Mark E. Walker.

If convicted, Smith, due to a prior child sexual exploitation conviction, faces a minimum mandatory 15 years' imprisonment and a maximum of 40 years' imprisonment on each count of receipt and distribution of child pornography. He also faces a minimum mandatory 10 years' imprisonment and a maximum 20 years' imprisonment for the possession of prepubescent child pornography count.

This case was jointly investigated by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christie S. Utt.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation's principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of FloridaLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. website. For more information about the United States Attorney's Office, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.