- Michael A. Smith Jr. was charged in May with three counts of rape of boys aged 9 to 13 at the time. Both are first-degree felonies.
- Smith was sentenced to a total of 30 to 35 years in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence. He must be registered as a Tier III sex offender for the rest of his life.
- Judge Robert Batchelor said the sentence reflected the harm inflicted on the victim, Smith’s past criminal history, and the disconnect between his actions and statements made in the current investigation. .
- Smith apologized for his actions in court and said he never meant to hurt anyone. His attorney noted that Smith himself was sexually abused as a child.
COSHOCTON – Judge Robert Batchelor called a Coshocton man, who was convicted of rape at the Coshocton County Common Pleas Court on Thursday, a threat to society.
Michael A. Smith Jr., 45, was charged in May with three counts of first-degree felony rape in cases from April 20, 2019 to April 11, 2022. time. Smith said he was arrested by the Coshocton County Sheriff’s Office on April 20. A pre-sentence investigation found Smith used his finger to penetrate the victim.
Smith pleaded guilty to the charges on November 14. Part of the plea bargain was to amend the charges to remove the statement that the victim was under the age of 13 at the time of the incident. The state also recommended a prison sentence of 10 to 15 years for each charge that serves consecutive sentences, and agreed not to oppose a pre-sentence investigation.
Bachelor sentenced Smith to 10 to 15 years’ imprisonment on each count, and sentenced Smith to 30 to 35 years’ total imprisonment in a row. Smith said he was given a 213-day reprieve for his local imprisonment and would be forced to serve his five-year post-release administration once he is out of prison. He must also be registered as a Tier III sex offender under the Child Victim Class for Life.
Attorney Zachary Melanda claimed time to serve at the same time based on Smith’s age and underlying mental health issues. Melanda said Smith was sexually abused as a child. In addition, Smith felt remorse for his actions and took responsibility for accepting a plea bargain and not forcing a trial in which the victim had to testify.
“I got caught in a vicious circle. I’m not that kind of person. I apologize to everyone affected. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone,” Smith said in court.
Prosecutor Jason Given found Smith’s comments offensive and called him a predator due to previous felony sex crimes on his record.
“For him to sit here and say, ‘This really wasn’t my fault, I didn’t mean to hurt anyone, and I was taking care of the kids,’ is just too blunt. I don’t know if it’s okay” given.
He went on to say that the minimum 30-year prison term “is what the victim deserves, what the public deserves and, frankly, what Mr. Smith deserves.”
The victim’s relatives were in court but did not speak. Bachelor read the statements they made in his pre-sentence investigation and noted how the child was affected by the crime.
This includes girls tending to break down in tears for 20-30 minutes at a time, being afraid to be alone with men, being prone to outbursts of anger, and constantly asking if they are dressed appropriately because they don’t want to be seen. included. crap and feels people are watching her all the time. She always tries to control everyone and everything around her as a way to protect herself.
“Both victim impact statements reflect what is absolutely clear here: Miss Smith, you stole her childhood from her,” Batchelor told the defendant. .
He considered the damage done to the victim in the sentencing, along with Smith’s felony criminal record. He was convicted of his domestic violence in 2003 and in 2011 in Knox County where he was convicted of two serious sexual coercion charges and served time at the same time. He was required to register as his Tier II sex offender and was convicted in 2018 of failing to update his address as part of the sex offender classification.
Batchelor also read statements from Smith in a pre-sentence investigation that he had used sexual release as a drug, like alcohol, for mental illness. I said never.
“Obviously there is a misunderstanding here,” Bachelor said. “When you say you don’t want to hurt anyone, you don’t understand that your actions constituted three rapes and caused serious physical harm to another human being.
Leonard Hayhurst is the Community Content Coordinator and General News Reporter for the Coshocton Tribune, with over 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio AP. Contact him at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow @llhayhurst on Twitter.
