A federal judge in New York has once again granted an additional 30-day continuance in Austin Wolf’s federal child pornography case. This is the eighth time that this has happened since his initial arrest in June 2024.
Since his arrest last June, judges in the Southern District of New York have granted seven extensions in this case, indicating that the defense and prosecutors were hammering out an agreement to avoid a trial. It's unclear what the status of those negotiations is, but both parties are due to respond by March 28, according to Magistrate Judge Henry Ricardo's order. Wolf was arrested on June 26 and has been in custody since then.
Editor’s note: It is worth noting that the vast majority of federal cases never actually go to trial and are eventually pled out.
A timeline of what has happened
In June 2024 Justin Heath Smith, known by his porn star name Austin Wolf, was arrested and charged with one count of distribution and receipt of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography. The popular adult film star was accused of sending and receiving “hundreds of videos of child pornography,” according to the initial press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York.
Smith was taken into custody and made his initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Tarnofsky on Friday, June 28, 2024 when a preliminary hearing was scheduled for late July. Wolf was represented by defense attorneys Michael Baldassare and Thomas Andrykovitz.
At the end of June, Andrykovitz gave a statement to The Advocate, and in addition to labeling the government’s charges as “unproven allegations,” the lawyer stated that Smith was being held in “inhumane” conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center. Andrykovitz’s statement read:
“The government’s press release contains nothing but unproven and untested allegations against a man that is presumed innocent. Justin is thankful for the incredible support he is receiving from his friends and supporters. He is presently detained at [Metropolitan Detention Center]. It is well documented in judicial decision after judicial decision that the conditions of confinement at MDC are inhumane. Mr. Smith’s conditions are no different. The staff at MDC have already failed to provide him with his basic medications.”
Shortly before the scheduled July hearing, on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo entered an Order of Continuance, extending the time within which a preliminary hearing would have to be conducted or an indictment or information would have to be filed in this case against Wolf until Wednesday, August 28, 2024. Defense attorneys Baldassare and Andrykovitz consented to the extension on behalf of Smith.
As expected on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron extended the Order of Continuance to Friday, September 27, 2024 to allow for more time for discussions between federal prosecutors working on the case and Smith’s attorneys.
A few days before that scheduled hearing, on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, the Honorable Katharine H. Parker entered an Order of Continuance, extending the time for a preliminary hearing or an indictment to Monday, October 28, 2024.
As that deadline approached, on Thursday, October 24, 2024, the Honorable Gary Stein entered an Order of Continuance, which extended the deadline once again. This time to Wednesday, November 27, 2024. Again, the extension was at the request of Smith’s attorneys and federal prosecutors working on the case.
The day before the November deadline, on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, the Honorable Barbara Moses entered an Order of Continuance, pushing the deadline to Friday, December 27, 2024. At the time Moses ruled that the extension “best serves the ends of justice and outweighs the best interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial.”
On Monday, December 23, 2024, the Honorable Sarah Netburn entered an Order of Continuance, extending in this case to Monday, January 27, 2025, leaving Smith locked up at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn for the holidays.
On Monday, January 27, 2025, Magistrate Judge Jennifer E. Willis granted yet another 30-day continuance—marking the seventh stime this has happened since Wolf’s arrest on Friday, June 28, 2024—pushing the deadline for a preliminary hearing or indictment to Wednesday, February 26, 2025. As with the previous extensions, the federal judge who approved the most recent extension did so at the request of both parties, as discussions for a potential plea deal continue.
“It is further found that the granting of such a continuance is for good cause shown and best serves the ends of justice and outweighs the best interests of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial,” wrote Willis in court documents.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Getzel Berger has noted that both the defense and prosecution are continuing negotiations.
While the negotiations continue Smith remains in custody and is currently being held in detention in Brooklyn after a judge ruled that he was a danger to the public and a flight risk. Smith could have rejected this or any of the government’s motion for a continuance, which would force them to either release him from prison or proceed with the indictment, so you have to assume that their case against him is solid.
If convicted, Smith faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years.
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