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Kevin Smith, who worked for the state for over 30 years, had more than 100 kiddie porn files “stored on optical disks and a thumb drive found in his cubicle” at the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development office in Trenton, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.
“Anyone who views and downloads child pornography online participates in the cruel exploitation of children,” Grewal said, “but Smith’s case is especially egregious because he engaged in this conduct at his state workplace using taxpayer-funded computer equipment.”
Smith was suspended as an executive assistant in the Division of Income Security – and later retired with a $4,178.59-a-month pension -- after supervisors “received information that he was viewing inappropriate materials on his work computer," the attorney general said.
After confirming the accusation, they alerted State Police investigators who seized thumb drives and optical disks from Smith’s computer and desk, Grewal said.
“A forensic examination of Smith’s state computer revealed that Smith had conducted searches for child pornography on the computer,” the attorney general said. “Detectives obtained search warrants for the thumb drives and optical disks and reviewed them at the State Police Forensic Technology Complex in Hamilton.
“A total of more than 100 files of child pornography were discovered on one of the thumb drives and several of the optical disks,” he said.
Smith, of Camden County, pleaded guilty Friday to possessing the files in exchange for the four-year state prison term.
He also will be permanently barred from public employment and be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law as part of the plea deal, Grewal said.
Deputy Attorney General Brian Faulk handled the case for Grewal’s Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau following an investigation by the bureau and the New Jersey State Police Digital Technology Investigations Unit (DTIU).
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