19-Year-Old Charged With 78 Counts Of Possessing Child Porn

LUTZ, FL — A 19-year-old Lutz man has been charged with 78 counts of possessing child pornography after the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office found images on his phone of children as young as 4 years old.

Christian Riley Smock of 148th Avenue East was arrested Monday following an investigation by the sheriff's Internet Predator Unit.

According to the sheriff's office, the investigation was launched after the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received a tip about Smock on Oct. 7. The sheriff's office subsequently obtained a search warrant for Smock's cell phone, finding both sexually explicit images and videos of children.

“The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is dedicated to protecting our community’s most precious asset — our children,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “We take crimes against and involving children very seriously and our detectives work tirelessly to pursue, charge and prosecute individuals who commit these types of crimes.”

Smock is being held in the Hillsborough County Jail in lieu of a $585,000 bond.