No bail set for child-porn suspect

Hensley man, 46, arrested after FBI agents raided his home

A Saline County man appeared in federal court Thursday after he was arrested Tuesday afternoon on charges of transportation, possession and receipt/distribution of child pornography after a raid by FBI agents at his home.

Daniel Smith, 46, of Hensley appeared by audio before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joe J. Volpe for an initial appearance to have his rights explained to him. After determining that Smith was qualified to have legal counsel appointed for him at no charge, Volpe appointed Little Rock attorney J. Blake Byrd to represent him.

Regarding bail, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Bryant told the judge that the government’s request was that Smith be held in detention until trial. Byrd requested to reserve the right to a bail hearing at a later time.

“I’ll enter a detention order with full reservation rights,” Volpe said.

“No objection, Your Honor,” Byrd said.

Smith is currently being held in the Saline County jail.

According to an FBI affidavit, Smith came to the attention of federal authorities when the FBI received a tipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children filed by the online microblogging and social networking site Tumblr last September. The report noted that 33 files containing child erotica or child pornography were uploaded on approximately 26 occasions between Sept. 14, 2019, and Sept. 6, 2020, to an account associated with the screen/ username “yukonskitch.”

The report, in addition to the email address, username and Tumblr profile URL, contained the IP addresses from which the last two offending posts were sent.

According to the affidavit, two of the files met the statutory definition of child pornography.

On Nov. 11, 2020, the affidavit said, Pulaski County District Judge Melanie H. Martin signed a court order requiring Tumblr to provide records and other information pertaining to the account associated with the username yukonskitch. The following day, according to the affidavit, Tumblr turned over records that included the user ID and email address associated with the account, along with other details.

Another court order, this one sent to AT&T Mobility, requiring the provider to turn over account information associated with two IP addresses contained in the report, turned up Smith’s name, address, phone numbers and email address.

The affidavit said that when Smith was interviewed by FBI agents, he denied any involvement with child pornography. He did confirm that he used the email address associated with the Tumblr account and verified his phone number as one of those contained in the information turned over by AT&T Mobility.

A search of Smith’s cellphone, the affidavit said, turned up numerous videos depicting child pornography.

If convicted, Smith could face penalties ranging from five to 20 years in prison.