SPOKANE, Wash. — A former editor of a Washington state newspaper has received a 10-year prison sentence after being found guilty of engaging in illegal activities involving minors.
Steven Smith from Spokane was sentenced on Wednesday, according to local reports. His arrest took place in July 2023, leading to 11 charges related to the possession of materials depicting minors in sexually explicit situations.
In a statement during the sentencing at the Spokane County Courthouse, Smith expressed his remorse, saying, “Though it seems wholly inadequate to say, I am ashamed and I am so sorry.”
In November, Smith entered a plea agreement where he admitted to one count of minor exploitation along with three counts of first-degree possession of child pornography.
Smith served as the executive editor for The Spokesman-Review in Spokane for a period between 2002 and 2008. After his tenure at the newspaper, he took on a teaching role in journalism ethics at the University of Idaho until his retirement in 2020.
Court documents reveal that a mobile cash payment service account registered under Smith’s name became a focal point in an investigation involving children using social media platforms to exchange sexually explicit images for monetary compensation.
The victims, aged between 10 and 14 years, reportedly sent images to an Instagram account and subsequently received payments via a cash app associated with Smith. Investigators traced the online activities of these accounts back to Smith’s residence in Spokane.
It is noted by detectives that the victims shared approximately 30 nude videos of themselves from April 2022 until January 2023. Evidence gathered from chat conversations indicated that Smith was cognizant of the victims’ ages during these interactions.
At the time investigators conducted a search of his home, Smith was reportedly in the process of downloading additional images.