A 21-year-old University of Central Florida student is behind bars and facing decades of prison time following a deep-dive investigation into his digital activity.
Attorney General James Uthmeier announced today that Joshua Smith has been hit with a litany of felony charges, including 18 counts of possession of child pornography, one count of transmission of child pornography, and one count of solicitation of a child for unlawful sexual conduct via a computer.
The legal hammer fell on Smith after a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) alerted the University of Central Florida Police Department to suspicious activity.
Investigators tracked several Kik accounts linked to Smith and eventually discovered evidence that he was using the platform to download and solicit illegal material.
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Law enforcement moved in to arrest Smith on February 25, 2026. Once they had his cellular device in hand, a forensic extraction revealed a digital graveyard of “extremely graphic” content, according to officials. The evidence allegedly included images and videos showing the sexual abuse of infants.
A subsequent warrant for his Kik accounts reportedly uncovered even more files, alongside chat logs where Smith attempted to solicit minors for sex acts and negotiate the trade of child sexual abuse material.
“The possession, sale, and trade of child sexual abuse material is vile,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier stated. “These are not victimless crimes, and our prosecutors are cracking down on this abhorrent behavior by seeking the strongest sentences allowed under Florida law.”
The stakes for the 21-year-old are massive. If Smith is convicted on all charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 280 years in the Florida Department of Corrections. Senior Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Lauryn Day is set to lead the prosecution in the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida as the case moves toward trial.
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