New York State Police arrested a 41-year-old Altamont man on Nov. 2 after an investigation sparked by a tip from a national child-safety organization, charging him with promoting and possessing a sexual performance by a child. Matthew Smith was taken into custody and later arraigned in Guilderland Town Court, where he was remanded to the Albany County Correctional Facility. The allegations against him are accusations only, not findings of guilt.
According to WRGB, the investigation began after a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Smith is accused of promoting and possessing images consistent with child pornography, and he was processed at State Police in Latham before his court appearance. Troopers from the Troop G Computer Crimes Unit and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force assisted in the arrest, per the station's report.
Smith was remanded to the Albany County Correctional Facility in lieu of $10,000 cash, a $20,000 bond, or a $40,000 partially secured bond. The arrest and charges followed a cyber tip about suspected child sexual exploitation in Albany County, the New York State Police account notes.
How the Cyber Tip System Works
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, or NCMEC, runs the CyberTipline that triggered the investigation. The organization says the tipline was created in 1998 to receive reports of suspected child sexual exploitation from the public and electronic service providers, according to NCMEC.
NCMEC reports that in 2025 it identified and escalated more than 53,000 CyberTipline reports as urgent or involving a child in imminent danger. The organization also says reports in the online-enticement category rose 158% from 2024, while child sex trafficking reports jumped 323% in the same period, with the CyberTipline receiving 1.4 million reports concerning online enticement in 2025 alone.
Other Capital Region Cases Tied To Cyber Tips
Smith's arrest is not the only recent Capital Region case traced back to an NCMEC cyber tip. On Oct. 22, New York State Police of Latham arrested 32-year-old Cody Ashline of Cohoes after an investigation that began with a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, CBS6 Albany reported. Ashline was charged with possessing a sexual performance by a child and accused of possessing images consistent with child sexual exploitation after investigators executed a search warrant at his residence; he was issued an appearance ticket returnable to Cohoes City Court on Nov. 5 and released.
In a separate case, state police arrested John Ruthosky Jr., 36, of Guilderland, in a child pornography investigation that also began after a cyber tip by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, according to News10. Ruthosky was charged with promoting and possessing a sexual performance by a child, among other offenses, and was arraigned in Guilderland Town Court and remanded to Albany County Jail without bail.
Statutory Basis for the Charges
Under the statute cited by the New York State Senate, a person is guilty of possessing a sexual performance by a child when, knowing the character and content of the material, they knowingly possess or control a performance, or knowingly access one with intent to view it. The available statutory excerpt is limited and does not detail how the law applies specifically to Smith's case.
