A former Columbus police officer was returned to jail yesterday after a federal judge heard sexually graphic text messages exchanged between him and two 15-year-old girls.
U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley ordered Todd L. Smith to remain in custody while he awaits trial on charges of coercing one girl for sex and trying to persuade another to produce a racy video and photo.
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“In this court’s view, when you deprive a child of their youth, that’s violence of the worst kind,” Marbley said after listening to a prosecutor and an FBI agent read some of the texts. Smith, 49, “used a position of trust as a police officer … to impose his sexual will upon these very young women.”
Both girls were students at Centennial High School while Smith was the resource officer there. He has been in jail since he was charged in late July.
A magistrate denied bail after his arrest, saying that Smith was a threat to the community. Yesterday, Smith’s attorney, Sam Shamansky, told Marbley that his client was neither a threat nor a flight risk.
“He has no history of violence, not a smidgen,” Shamansky said. “There’s no reason for him to flee. All he wants to do is come to court and have this case litigated.”
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FBI Special Agent Tisha Hartsough testified for nearly two hours as part of Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Squires’ argument that Smith should remain in custody.
Both girls, Hartsough said, are concerned about their safety if Smith is released. In a text message to one of the girls, Smith said he would “hate the s-” out of her if she told anyone about their relationship.
She said Smith encouraged the girls to send him nude photographs of themselves; evidence shows that each girl sent at least one photo of herself topless.
When one girl said she was going to have sex with a Centennial High School teacher, Smith texted her to “tape it. I want to see you in action.”
In another text, one of the girls suggested that she and Smith “Skype later and I’ll show you everything.” Smith responded: “Yummy.”
Smith also told at least one of the girls that he wanted naked images of her to add to his “ spank bank,” a collection of photographs he kept to provide himself sexual stimulation.
Hartsough said the FBI recovered 6,000 texts that were exchanged between Smith and one of the girls.
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She said FBI agents learned about one girl after her mother contacted an attorney. The second girl contacted the FBI after hearing news accounts of Smith’s arrest, assuming that the case involved her relationship with Smith, Hartsough said.
Before the second girl called the FBI, she called Smith’s wife, Yolanda Harris, and told her about her relationship with Smith, Hartsough said.
“She said, ‘I’m the girl and I’m sorry,’??” she testified. Harris is a news anchor at WSYX-TV (Channel 6).
Squires characterized the sexually charged texts that Smith sent to the girls as “acts of violence” because he was a figure of authority and the girls were minors.
“He preyed upon them,” Squires said. “These are children, your honor.”
@reporterkathy
Source: https://t-tees.com
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