A Florida man has been sentenced to 17 years and six months in federal prison for the distribution of child sexual abuse materials.
Brandon Paul Smolinski’s, 36, Middleburg, prison term will be followed by ten years of supervised release.
The court also ordered Smolinski to pay $33,500 in restitution to the victims of his offense. Smolinski pleaded guilty on March 22, 2023.
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According to court documents, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) initiated an investigation after receiving information about five files of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) being sent over a social media application by a user.
PCSO’s investigation revealed that the files were sent from within the Putnam County Jail and traced the social media account to that of Smolinski, who was working for a transportation company that works inside the Putnam County Jail.
The company provided Smolinski’s work schedule and confirmed that he was working in the Putnam County Jail on the dates and times the files were shared from within the facility.
PCSO contacted the Clay County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) to request assistance at Smolinski’s residence in Middleburg and CCSO discovered additional information that the internet service at Smolinski’s residence was also used to upload files of CSAM using the same social media application.
Detectives from PCSO and CCSO approached Smolinski in the parking lot at the Putnam County Jail. During an interview with the detectives, Smolinski stated that he worked in the jail for approximately six months.
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He further said that he worked the nightshift, and even though no one was supposed to bring their phones into the jail tower, he brought his phone and used it to log onto the secure Wi-Fi at the Putnam County Jail.
Smolinski admitted to having the social media application used to distribute the files of CSAM. When shown particular files of CSAM distributed from his account, Smolinski acknowledged having seen the files and that they depicted children, estimating that one of the children being sexually abused in a video appeared “young, 10 years old.”
Smolinski said he would save a video shared with him via chat groups on the app, and then would flip the videos around and re-send them out. When asked if he knew what he was doing was wrong, Smolinski replied, “Oh … yes, … 100% wrong.” Smolinski said he had been involved in viewing and distributing CSAM for several years.
During a forensic review of Smolinski’s iPhone, law enforcement discovered multiple files of CSAM, including a file sent to Person A on June 27, 2022.
Also, on Smolinski’s phone were several chat messages between Smolinski and Person A, during which they talked about exploiting children. Within the messages, Smolinski said his “favorite age” was “8-9-10-14. Somewhere in there, but I’m not picky.”
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