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Feds Execute Search Warrant, Man Storing Child Porn With Tax Documents

Feds Execute Search Warrant, Man Storing Child Porn With Tax Documents

A man from Rochester Hills, Michigan -- a town about 30 minutes outside of Detroit -- has been accused of storing child porn on the same hard drive as his tax documents.

According to Click On Detroit, Jason James Smith, 42, resided with his wife and stepson in a Rochester Hills residence. From May to August, authorities downloaded several files described as "abusive child sex material" from a known IP address belonging to Smith. 

The news outlet shared specific graphic details taken from court records:

On June 9, Homeland Security investigators in Grand Rapids were monitoring for people sharing child pornography when they came across a file that had been partially downloaded to that Rochester Hills address, according to the criminal complaint.

Officials said the video involved two girls, ages 12-14 and 6-8. The girls were nude and performed sexual acts on each other during the video.

Federal agents executed a search warrant on August 31, at which time they discovered multiple hard drives and other electronic devices in the basement of the residence. 

Strangely, per Click On Detroit's report, the drives "that contained the child pornography also had tax return information on W-2s and 1099s for a business that Smith owned and operated, officials said."

It is unknown why Smith was storing his tax documents on the same devices as his illegal pornographic videos. 

Smith's wife and stepson confirmed that he alone owned the devices, and they were not used by anyone else in the household. Smith was home at the time of the search.

At the time of publication, it is not immediately clear what specific charges Smith will face or when he will next appear in court. 

What do you think about this case?

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Rebekah Barton

Rebekah Barton

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