Niagara Falls man headed back to prison on new child pornography conviction

Mar. 28—A Niagara Falls man with a prior child pornography conviction was sentenced to 15 2/3 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography involving a prepubescent minor, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Federal prosecutors said 40-year-old Albert Smith was convicted in 2003 of second-degree sexual abuse and sexual contact with a person less than 14 years old in North Tonawanda City Court.

In 2021, Niagara Falls police began investigating Smith after a family found a cellphone on a street in Niagara Falls, saw that it contained images of child pornography and turned it in to police.

On Oct. 22, 2021, a search warrant executed at Smith's residence yielded two other cellphones that contained child pornography. Authorities said that Smith possessed 314 images and videos of child pornography on the three devices. The images included depictions of minors under the age of 12, and the sexual abuse of an infant or toddler.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo also sentenced Smith to 30 years of supervised release and required he pay $3,000 in restitution to a child pornography victim.

The case was investigated by the Niagara Falls Police Department and the FBI.

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