Michael D. Smith was arrested and charged in January with alleged computer crimes involving a juvenile; however, Bradley County has dropped the charge of sexual exploitation of a minor and federal authorities have taken over the case.
Smith, 30, was living in Gordonsville at the time of his arrest by members of the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children detectives, according to Bob Gault, media relations coordinator for BCSO.
Smith was taken into custody in January, posted bond and was released.
A detective with the ICAC unit said Monday that other charges are always possible in a case as the investigation continues.
“These cases can take weeks or months to investigate,” said one of the investigators involved in the case.
“Since it was formed last year as a part of the Knoxville ICAC Task Force, the Bradley County unit has launched investigations involving a number of predators who have attempted to contact underage children on the computer for sexual purposes. They have several cases that are now in various stages in the court system.
ICAC is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice Project Safe Children Initiative. The goal of the program is to equip local and state law enforcement agencies with resources they need to pursue offenders using the Internet and other electronic communications to sexually exploit children,” according to Gault.
Sheriff Tim Gobble said particular Internet sites which typically exploit children are sometimes hidden as computer users browse the Internet; however, investigators can gain information about how many times an alleged offender visits and frequents such sites.
“These elements can raise a red flag and prompt further investigation,” said Gobble.
Through the investigation, detectives can determine how many times and how often an alleged offender visits Internet pornography sites where children are the victims,” he explained.
Gobble also said other indicators such as “file sharing” of images of children can also be determined through investigation.
In Smith’s case, he allegedly solicited sex from a juvenile on the Internet, according to Gault’s information.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nashville is now involved in the prosecution of the case against Smith, according to Gault.
In an unrelated case, Eric Michael Vislosky is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor after investigators allegedly discovered “more than 100 images of child pornography” on a thumb drive.
“In early July an acquaintance plugged Vislosky’s drive into a video game console and found numerous images of child pornography. That prompted a call to the ICAC Unit and after two-weeks of investigation, Vislosky was taken into custody on July 28,” said Gault.
Vislosky is in custody at the Bradley County Jail and is being held under a $10,000 bond.
According to Gault, Vislosky waived the charges to the Grand Jury.
