Ex-Boy Scout official faces child porn charges
DALLAS, Texas (CNN) -- A former top official of the Boy Scouts of America faces federal Internet child pornography charges and is expected to plead guilty Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office said.
Douglas S. Smith Jr. faces a single count of receiving and distributing child pornography -- a charge resulting from a federal investigation conducted with German authorities.
The U.S. attorney's office in Fort Worth, Texas, filed the charges after federal investigators found images of children engaging in sex acts on Smith's computer.
Smith is scheduled to appear before a federal judge Wednesday in Fort Worth, said Kathy Colvin, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office.
"We anticipate Mr. Smith will enter a guilty plea at that time," she said.
Smith retired from the Boy Scouts in February after a 39-year career with the youth organization, based in suburban Dallas.
The organization placed him on administrative leave after learning that he was under criminal investigation, and Smith stepped down soon afterward, BSA spokesman Greg Shields said.
Smith, a former Eagle Scout, previously served as the Boy Scouts' director of programming, Shields said.
"As a professional scouter, he was in more administrative positions -- most recently developing programs -- and not in direct contact with the youth," Shields said.
Shields said the Boy Scouts are "shocked and dismayed" by Smith's arrest, but the group has cooperated with investigators in the case.
"We surrendered his work computer to authorities," he said.
Smith turned himself in to authorities Friday and was released without bond, according to court records.
Smith's lawyer, Jack Strickland, told The Associated Press that his client is "not taking this well. I've got to tell you, this is a good man, and I would hate to see the entirety of his life and the good things he's done defined by one incident."
Smith's case is part of Operation Predator, an initiative that has resulted in more than 5,300 arrests worldwide since 2003, said Manny Van Pelt, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Those charged in previous cases have included doctors, police officers, teachers, camp counselors and coaches, he said.
CNN's Ed Lavandera and Stacia Deshishku contributed to this report.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
