Michigan man sentenced to prison for enticement of a minor in Ohio

Christopher David Smith, 31, of Detroit, Mich. was sentenced recently to 135 months (11 years and three months) in prison by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Helmick, after the defendant earlier pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor.

Judge Helmick also ordered Smith to pay a $100 special assessment, an additional $5,000 assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, and be placed on supervised release for 10 years upon release from imprisonment, during which time he will be a registered sex offender.

According to court documents, on April 1, 2021, Smith left his place of employment in Michigan and traveled to Ohio to engage in sex acts with whom he thought was a 10-year-old child.

Smith had conversations online with an undercover agent posing as the father of the fictitious 10-year-old before arranging to meet the child. During those online conversations, Smith sent child pornography to the undercover agent, asked for nude photos of the purported 10-year-old and made statements related to his sexual intentions toward the child.

Smith was arrested after he arrived at the prearranged meeting location, a hotel in Perrysburg.

This case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division, Toledo Resident Agency, with the assistance of an FBI task force officer from the Defiance County Sheriff’s Office and assistance with the arrest from the Perrysburg Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Tracey Tangeman and Sara Al-Sorghali.