Justin Heath Smith, also known as gay adult performer Austin Wolf, was sentenced to 19 years in prison for enticing a minor. The 44 year old was arrested last summer, and had pleaded guilty to the charges. Prosecutors submitted a 15 page memorandum on September 22 requesting a maximum sentence for Smith, referencing other victims beyond the 15 year old whom the case centered on. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said in a statement:
“Justin Heath Smith’s crimes against children are horrible. He targeted kids as young as seven, and every New Yorker wants him and those like him off our streets for as long as possible and never again near our children.”
Smith’s defense attorneys Michael Baldassare and Thomas Andrykovitz argued for lenience due to his lack of a previous criminal record, his sobriety, and his being an advocate for others in the adult industry. They also claim that the prosecution padded their submission with unproven allegations. The adult industry was rattled by Smith’s arrest in June of 2024, when FBI agents found hundreds of child sexual abuse images on an SD card in his Manhattan apartment.
Many other performers warned that conservatives would use the charges to continue attacks against the LGBTQ community at large. One content creator was quoted anonymously saying, “This is catastrophic news. We have to do everything in our power to separate us from people like this.”
