JONESBORO, Ark. — A Jonesboro man could, in theory, face thousands of charges for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) after authorities say they found 11,000 images on his devices.
Keon Devante Smith, 28, of Jonesboro, went before Judge Tommy Fowler on Friday, Sept. 6 for his probable cause hearing. Judge Fowler set his bond at $125,000 cash or surety, with the condition that Smith not use any device capable of internet access, from cell phones to gaming consoles.
The probable cause affidavit contains graphic details, much of which we are omitting from this report.
On August 12, the Jonesboro Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) division received three cyber tips from Arkansas State Police ICAC, who had received their information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Two of the tips had come from Google and an email address that contained the suspect’s name and IP address, which were used to upload the images. In their tips, Google provided videos and images that were uploaded to that account as well as a phone number associated with the account.
Detective Adam Hampton wrote in the probable cause affidavit that he previewed the images and videos and three of them showed child sexual abuse material. One of the videos showed a juvenile between the ages of 10 and 11 engaging in sexual activity with another juvenile between the ages of 13 and 14. Two other videos showed juveniles in their early teens performing sex acts.
Google also turned over a large number of anime and AI-generated images and videos that portrayed young juvenile males engaging in sexual activity with adult males.
Another cyber tip came from Discord, also showing the email address associated with Smith and the same phone number. The affidavit says they provided an image that had been uploaded to his account showing a naked juvenile male.
Arkansas State Police took the phone number and determined it was through T-Mobile. The IP address came back through Optimum. Subpoenas for both companies were issued, with both companies coming back to report Smith’s ownership of the respective accounts.
On Sept. 5, a search warrant was executed at Smith’s address at Caraway Commons. According to Judge Fowler Friday in court, an estimated 11,000 images or videos were found. Smith was arrested.
Each count of possession or use of child sexual abuse material contains a potential penalty of 5 to 20 years in prison, along with a fine of up to $15,000. The judge noted that Smith could face charges for each of the files that contained illegal material.
All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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