Albany man sentenced in child sex abuse image case

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — An Albany man was sentenced to prison for receiving child sex abuse images, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a press release on Friday. Taykwun Smoaks, 32, faces seven years and three months behind bars.

Smoaks was arrested in April 2023 and pleaded guilty to possessing child sex images in August 2024. As part of the plea deal, he admitted that, from February to March 2023, he received and possessed images and videos of child sex abuse on his computer and external hard drive. The 32-year-old also admitted that he downloaded more than 600 videos and 22,000 still images.

In addition to prison time, Smoaks was ordered to serve a 15-year term of post-incarceration supervised release and to pay restitution of $3,000 to each of the 15 victims, totaling $45,000 in restitution. He will also be required to forfeit the electronic devices used to commit the offense and to register as a sex offender after his release from prison.