CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Jury deliberations will continue Friday in the case of a Kanawha County man accused of possessing more than 600 images of child pornography on his cellphone.
The 12-member jury began deliberating the fate of Leo Smith, Jr., of St. Albans Thursday. They were sent home for the day Thursday afternoon and will return Friday.
Kanawha County Circuit Judge Dave Hardy presided over closing arguments in Smith’s trial Thursday morning before turning the case over to the jury. Smith was arrested and charged in 2024.
Kanawha County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Ryanne Ball said investigators found 27 videos of child pornography on Smith’s phone.
“Leo Smith knew exactly what he was doing when he screen-recorded those videos. Leo Smith knew exactly what he was doing when he placed those videos in the hidden folder on his phone. None of this was an accident,” she said.
Under West Virginia law, a child pornography video under five minutes constitutes 25 images, and Ball indicated 26 of the 27 videos fit that category. She told the jury the evidence shows Smith is responsible for possessing that material.
“It does not make any sense that in the year 2024, a 21-year-old man could unknowingly or unwilfully have an app on his phone that is commonly known to be used for the distribution of child pornography,” she said.
Smith’s attorney, John Sullivan, argued that the chain of possession for Smith’s phone is unclear and casts doubt onto the evidence. The prosecution admitted that at one point in the investigation, Smith’s phone and another phone in evidence were placed into the wrong envelopes.
Additionally, Sullivan claimed that none of the testimony placed the phone in Smith’s possession when he was arrested.
“We never even saw that the phone was in his front pocket, his back pocket, or his sweatshirt pocket. We don’t even know where the phone came from,” he said.
Sullivan closed his statements to the jury by stating he believes the state has failed to surpass the burden of proof that his client is guilty. He said that means Smith must go free.
“You have to do the right thing, hold the state to its burden of proof, and in the end, find Leo Smith not guilty,” he said.
Ball underscored the prosecution’s argument that through his alleged actions, Smith exploited children being abused. She believes he knew exactly what he was doing.
“While the children who were abused, violated, and exploited in those videos were innocent, Leo Smith is not,” she said.
If convicted, Smith faces between five and 20 years in prison.