Jury Convicts Carthage Man of Sexual Exploitation of a Child
By: Briauna Brown
Updated: August 17, 2012
SPRINGFIELD, MO---Thursday August 16th, Todd C. Smith, 41, of Carthage, was found guilty of using a minor to create child pornography.
Officers with the Jasper County Sheriff's Department responded to Smith's home on Sept. 27, 2011, after receiving a report that he had slapped a minor female. In the course of their investigation, officers found evidence of Smith's sexual abuse of several child victims. Officer's discovered several videos.
Under federal statues, Smith is subject to a sentence of 35 years to life in federal prison without parole, based on his prior convictions for sexual misconduct in the first degree in Missouri and criminal sexual abuse in Illinois.
A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
