MACHIAS – A 35-year-old Machias man who was described as “mentally challenged” and who had more than 1,200 images of child pornography on his computer was sentenced Monday in 4th District Court.

Judge John Romei sentenced Travis A. Smith to six months in jail, all suspended, and two years probation. He had been charged with 19 counts of possession of sexually explicit materials. He also was ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation and register as a sex offender.

The investigation into Smith’s home computer took nearly three years for the Maine Computer Crimes Task Force in Augusta to complete.

On July 15, 2003, Washington County Sheriff’s Lt. David Denbow was given a handwritten notebook that showed Smith was using his home computer to access and save child pornography. The notebook had been found in Smith’s home and turned over to police.

When police got to Smith’s home, he claimed he had been “collecting child pornography and was waiting for the police to come” so he could give it to them, according to an affidavit on file with the court.

Smith allowed the officers to look at his computer, which already was running. The deputies seized Smith’s computer, diskettes, compact disks and other evidence.

The computer crimes task force examined the seized material which contained computer files with visual images of very young children being sexually active, the complaint said. The task force also was able to reproduce part of Smith’s computer’s hard drive, deleted files and Internet history.

“Lt. Denbow examined the CDs and preserved the images thereon,” the affidavit said. “Each concluded that much of the material showed children of both genders – one young enough to be in diapers – engaged in sexually explicit conduct,” the affidavit said.

The affidavit then went on to describe some of the images that were seized that included adult males and females engaged in sexual acts with children.

The evidence seized showed that the computer and CDs contained 1,238 images and two sex videos involving children.

In court Monday, First District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh said all of the charges against Smith were misdemeanors. The Maine Legislature has since changed the law and today those same crimes would be felony convictions.

The prosecutor presented the judge with some of the pictures, but warned that they were “extremely graphic.” Romei frowned as he looked at the pictures. Smith’s hard drive, Cavanaugh said, had several child porn sites in his “favorites” file.

Cavanaugh said police also found written stories in Smith’s home dealing with child abduction and child pornography. He said Smith needed to go to jail.

Smith’s sister, Julie Smith, made a tearful plea on behalf of her brother. She said her brother was mentally challenged and easily taken advantage of.

She said her brother was a “big kid in a man’s body” and she did not believe that he would have the ability to navigate the porn sites since he could neither read nor write.

Julie Smith tried to point the finger at two teenage boys who apparently had lived with Smith, but the judge interrupted and reminded her that Smith had pleaded guilty to the crimes.

Smith’s sister said she was not concerned that her brother spent time with her children because they “adored” him. “He loves them, he takes care of them,” she said.

Smith’s attorney, Frank Cassidy of Machias, said the reason Smith had put the porn on discs was because he had been told that it would get rid of the sexually explicit “pop ups.”

Cavanaugh rejected that argument and said that a person would have to go looking for child porn and that it was not something that just “popped up” on a person’s computer.

Cassidy noted that Smith had cooperated with police, had no prior record, and was gainfully employed. He said he did not believe putting the man in jail would help. “He realized what he did was wrong,” Cassidy said.

Romei then questioned the lieutenant, about the events leading up to the arrest. Denbow said that he often had coffee in the morning at a local restaurant and if Smith had really wanted to give the material to police he could have done so before police appeared on his doorstep.

Smith then told the judge, “I never hurt a child, I won’t break no more laws. I should have gotten to David sooner. I keep forgetting things.”

The judge than noted Smith’s lack of prior criminal history and the fact that he had taken responsibility for the crimes. He then sentenced Smith.

“The sentence will stigmatize him as a sex offender,” the judge said.