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Harvard-educated Wall Street executive pleads guilty to rape, buying child porn
A former Wall Street executive has pleaded guilty to drugging and sexually assaulting women, as well as buying child pornography.
A former Wall Street executive has pleaded guilty to drugging and sexually assaulting women, as well as buying child pornography. Edward Gene Smith, a former Citigroup managing director, entered his plea in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday.
Smith, 50, admitted that he intentionally lured women in New York so he could drug them and have sex with them. He also confessed to buying and possessing pornographic images of minors, Bloomberg reported.
Drugging and raping women
Harvard-educated Edward Smith is accused of targeting young women online over several years, from around 2019 to 2023. He reportedly persuaded these women to meet him at his apartment in Central Park South and other locations.
On multiple occasions, he allegedly gave them drugs without their knowledge or consent, then sexually abused them while they were incapacitated or unconscious. He also took photos and videos of these assaults.
One specific incident involved a woman prosecutors call Victim-1. In April 2023, Smith allegedly drugged and raped her in his apartment. He then recorded the assault while she was unconscious and shared the video with others through an encrypted messaging platform that was dedicated to sharing sexually exploitative material of incapacitated women.
"I don't get a chance to do this every day, lol," he wrote while sharing the footage.
(Also read: Ex–Wall Street millionaire accused of torturing women in soundproof ‘sex dungeon’)
Another woman, referred to as Victim-2 in court documents, met the Wall Street executive in 2019 while she was a college student. Smith allegedly persuaded her to move to New York City and then controlled many aspects of her life, including her finances and social activities. Over several months, he allegedly repeatedly drugged and sexually assaulted her.
The arrest in 2024
In addition to these assaults, Smith is accused of possessing and receiving a large number of images and videos showing sexual abuse of children on his personal devices from 2019 through June 2024.
Finally, in August 2024, after law enforcement executed a search warrant on his residence and discovered child pornography on his devices, Smith allegedly paid one of his victims to sign a false document in an attempt to obstruct the investigation.
Who is Edward Gene Smith?
Smith, a Harvard University graduate from the class of 1997, was working as a managing director at Citigroup until his arrest in July 2024 on child pornography charges, according to court documents.
Before joining Citi in 2021, Smith held senior positions at BlackRock Inc., Banco Santander SA, State Street Corp., and consulting firm Oliver Wyman.
“We moved to terminate Mr. Smith immediately upon learning about law enforcement’s initial investigation, well before the allegations of this depraved behavior came to light,” a Citigroup spokesperson said in a statement. “We will continue to cooperate with law enforcement as they seek justice for the victims of these heinous crimes.”
What authorities said
“As alleged, Edward Gene Smith systematically preyed on vulnerable young women,” said US Attorney Jay Clayton. “He allegedly sexually assaulted young women, drugging and raping them, often recording his abuse in photographs and videos.
“Smith also allegedly possessed horrific images and videos of child sexual abuse and, when the investigation closed in, attempted to obstruct justice by paying one of his victims to sign a false document,” said Clayton.
“Smith targeted and abused vulnerable young women by drugging, raping, and sexually assaulting them before exploiting their image on an encrypted messaging platform, as alleged,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G Raia. “Our investigation also revealed alleged possession of child pornography and an attempt by Smith to obstruct justice. As demonstrated today, the FBI remains relentless in our pursuit to root out those who prey on vulnerable victims and predators who defile the likeness of children through these heinous acts.”
