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…