Ex-Boy Scouts Official Sentenced in Child Porn Case

FORT WORTH, Texas – A former Boy Scouts executive was sentenced Monday to eight years in prison for collecting child pornography from the Internet.

Douglas S, Smith, Jr., 62, an executive in the Boy Scouts of America at the time he was charged, pleaded guilty in March to one count of possessing child porn.

"The good news is that the court certainly harmed Mr. Smith a lot less than the court could have," said Jack Strickland, Smith's attorney. "They take these cases very seriously, as they should."

Click here to read the charges against Smith (FindLaw).

Smith had faced between five and 20 years in prison. He did not immediately return a call Monday to his home seeking comment.

In a statement to the court, Smith apologized to his wife and three sons, church members and friends, and the Boy Scouts for the pain and humiliation he caused.

U.S. District Judge Terry Means ordered Smith to surrender to prison officials Jan. 9.

In March, Smith acknowledged receiving and sending over the Internet more than 500 images of boys, some younger than age 12, posing nude or engaging in sex acts.

Smith worked for the Boy Scouts for 39 years, the last nine as a national program director, but he did not work directly with children in his most recent job, Boy Scouts officials have said. He resigned in February after the allegations surfaced.

Court records show that Smith, who was not accused of or charged with child molestation, checked into a sex addiction clinic this summer and also helped federal agents arrest and indict a Pittsburgh, Pa., man with whom he shared and traded child pornography.

Prosecutors agreed that Smith deserved leniency in his sentence for his assistance. After his release, Smith must spend the rest of his life under federal supervision, the judge ordered.