STAUNTON — A Stuarts Draft man who contacted a young girl on social media last year and got her to send him nude photographs was sentenced to eight years in prison Tuesday morning in Augusta County Circuit Court.
Last summer in late June, Christopher M. Smith, now 40, was using Facebook when he reached out to the girl, who was under 14 years old, according to Augusta County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Caleb Kramer.
During the course of their online interactions, Smith asked the child to send him nude photographs, Kramer said.
After authorities started an investigation, Smith’s cell phone and an electronic tablet were seized. Ten photos of the child were found, resulting in child pornography charges. Kramer said Smith initially denied contacting the girl but later admitted to doing so.
A landscaper when arrested, Smith was also found to be in possession of methamphetamine.
In court Tuesday, Smith, appearing via closed-circuit television from Rockbridge Regional Jail, pleaded guilty to 10 charges of possessing child pornography, along with a charge of possession of a Schedule I or II drug.
In a plea deal, he was sentenced to 53 years in prison with 45 years suspended, giving him a total of eight years to serve. Smith will also be placed on five years of supervised probation once he is released from prison.
He still faces charges of child porn possession and soliciting a minor in Rockbridge County, and has pleaded not guilty to the two felony charges, court records show.
Smith remains at Rockbridge Regional Jail in Lexington.