Hettinger man arrested on child pornography charges

Jason R. O'Day, The Dickinson Press, N.D.
·2 min read

Apr. 29—HETTINGER, N.D. — A southwestern North Dakota man faces 14 counts of promoting or directing an obscene performance by a minor. The Adams County Sheriff's office executed an arrest warrant for Timothy Smith, 47, of Hettinger, on April 22.

In an April 24 press release, Adams County Sheriff Jordan Fisher stated his office received a tip from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI). This tip alleged that Smith sent or received digital content depicting juvenile males in a sexually explicit nature.

Fisher then ordered his detective to immediately begin surveillance of Smith in order to identify him, confirm his whereabouts and track the man's movements.

In conjunction with a BCI special agent, Adams County deputies obtained a search warrant and entered the residence of 410 Nineth St. S. in Hettinger, at which time the home was searched and evidence was collected. Smith was taken into custody on an unrelated arrest warrant and subsequently transported to Dickinson to await trial.

During a phone conversation with The Dickinson Press on Thursday, Adams County State's Attorney Aaron Roseland said Smith allegedly did this on a social media messaging app called Kik.

"Essentially it was stemming from an alert from the application Kik. Based on that information a search warrant was issued, in which the materials were found and linked to Mr. Smith's IP address," Roseland said, explaining that he couldn't give further details. "An examination of the confiscated electronics is ongoing. Therefore, we don't want to go into too much detail yet."

Fisher also made a point to thank other agencies that assisted in the apprehension, which included the Bowman Police Department and North Dakota Highway Patrol.

Smith was being held at the Southwest Multi-County Correctional Center in Dickinson, where he appeared virtually for a bond hearing with Judge Rhonda Ehlis on Wednesday. Fisher noted that Smith is innocent until proven guilty, and said no further comment would be provided as the investigation continues.