PHILADELPHIA, PA — A Reading man who admitted using social media and payment apps to direct and pay minors to produce sexually explicit images and engage in sexual conduct now faces a potential life sentence, following a guilty plea in federal court Thursday.
Carlos Rivera-Smith, 38, pleaded guilty before Judge Catherine Henry in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to four counts of using an interstate commerce facility to entice, and attempt to entice, a minor to engage in sexual conduct, as well as one count of committing a felony offense while required to register as a sex offender.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Rivera-Smith has been held in federal custody since his January 14 arrest on a criminal complaint and warrant. Prosecutors said he was charged by information in April and waived prosecution by indictment as part of Thursday’s plea proceedings.
Court filings cited by prosecutors allege Rivera-Smith communicated with four minor victims through a social media application and transferred money to them through cash-payment platforms. Authorities said he directed the minors to create sexually explicit images and sought to persuade them to engage in sexual acts with him.
Federal prosecutors said the conduct occurred repeatedly over more than two years, beginning in 2022. Investigators alleged Rivera-Smith paid the minors hundreds of dollars in exchange for sexually explicit material and other exploitative conduct.
The guilty plea resolves the criminal charges without a trial and moves the case into the sentencing phase.
Rivera-Smith is scheduled to be sentenced on September 9. According to prosecutors, he faces a maximum possible penalty of life imprisonment.
The investigation was conducted by the Reading Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Dimmig is prosecuting the case.
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