SPOKANE, Wash. — When detectives knocked on Steven Smith's South Hill home Thursday with a search warrant in hand, they asked if he knew why they were there.
According to court documents, Smith replied, "Yes, it's probably from what I have been downloading."
Investigators with the Washington State Patrol (WSP) and the Department of Homeland Security say the 73-year-old used an anonymous Instagram account to chat with underage girls willing to send nude photos of themselves in exchange for money, according to court docs.
Detectives say the victims, who live out of state, shared approximately 30 nude videos of themselves between April 2022 and January 2023. In exchange, court documents show Smith sent dozens of payments via Cash App.
Authorities believe the girls were between 10 and 14 years old.
Friday afternoon, Smith appeared in court charged with 10 counts of possessing child pornography. Detectives say more charges are possible. As they searched Smith's home, court docs say he was in the process of downloading more child porn.
Smith retired as a journalism professor at the University of Idaho in 2020. Most notably, he was the executive editor at the Spokesman-Review in 2005 when the paper dropped a bombshell, reporting former Spokane Mayor Jim West, an anti-gay conservative, enticed young men into sexual relationships and offered them jobs at city hall.
"I think what you've just seen today is a rather appalling example of [West's] refusal to take responsibility for his actions," Smith told KREM 2 in 2005 regarding the story.
The story made national news and Smith appeared on the CBS Early Show and Frontline on PBS.
"What if [West] is using the internet to identify and have sex with underage boys?," Smith said. "If he's engaged in this activity, if he's violating the law, if he's abusing children today, we need to know that. He talked to me about living this dual life and the hellishness of this dual life, it was really quite extraordinary."
Court docs say after Smith was taken to jail Thursday, his wife returned home from work and told detectives she had no knowledge of the alleged illegal activity and didn't know the passcodes to her husband's devices.
Smith's bond is set at $25,000. His arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 1, 2023.
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