COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — A man is facing felony charges after he allegedly solicited middle school-aged girls online, not knowing he was really chatting with a federal agent, as reported by our news partner, Coeur d'Alene Press.
Adam W. Smith, 41, of Coeur d’Alene, is charged with two counts of enticing children through use of the internet, both felonies.
First District Judge Robert Caldwell ruled last week that enough evidence exists to bind the case over to district court.
Between May and October, an agent with the FBI Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force reportedly used multiple fake Instagram profiles in order to pose as different underage girls.
Smith allegedly initiated contact with three of the fake children, whose profiles identified them as being 12 or 13 years old.
He exchanged messages with the girls on Instagram and via text, police said, initiating explicit sexual role-play and requesting photos.
Documents filed by the state include almost 30 pages of screenshots and transcripts of conversations between Smith and the fictitious girls, many of which are sexually explicit.
During one conversation, Smith reportedly expressed concern that the 13-year-old girl he believed he’d been chatting with was fake.
He suggested she could prove she wasn’t a cop by sending a video, according to court documents.
In September, Smith allegedly told the girls he didn’t want to talk anymore and directed them to delete all previous conversations.
Police obtained a warrant in October to search Smith’s home for the devices used to communicate with the girl.
Members of the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force executed the warrant on Oct. 26, ordering Smith out of his residence at gunpoint.
Investigators reportedly recovered partial chats with the girls on electronic devices belonging to Smith.
First District Judge Ross Pittman ordered that Smith be held on $500,000 bail.
Smith posted bond in early November.
The case has been referred to the district court for further action.
In Idaho, enticing a child through use of the internet or other communication device is a felony punishable by a maximum of 15 years in prison.
Coeur d'Alene Press is a KREM 2 news partner. For more from our news partner, click here.
