Overview
- Edward Gene Smith was sentenced on July 28, 2026 to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to four counts that include drugging with intent to rape, receiving child pornography, enticing another to travel for sex, and obstruction of justice.
- Prosecutors say Smith preyed on mainly young women from 2015 through 2024 by using wealth, online recruitment including ‘sugar‑dating’ platforms, cash and control of finances to lure victims to his Manhattan residence.
- Court filings and Smith’s plea describe a recorded April 2023 assault in which he laced a woman’s drink with Klonopin, raped her while she was unconscious, and shared the footage with an encrypted online group.
- The FBI recovered more than 9,000 unique child sexual abuse files across multiple devices that investigators say were organized and, in some cases, shared, prompting separate counts for receiving child pornography.
- Smith’s lawyers argued his autism spectrum disorder merited leniency but prosecutors rejected that defense, and the government has moved to seize a jointly owned South Carolina home to help pay restitution to victims.