District Attorney Chris Hicks announces that Brandon Smith has been sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility in 115 years. The Honorable Judge Egan Walker sentenced Smith following a jury trial in July of this year, in which he was found guilty of three counts of Sexual Assault on a Child Under the Age of 14 and one count of Lewdness with a Child Under the Age of 14

During the trial, it was established that starting 10 years ago, Smith inappropriately touched and sexually assaulted a girl multiple times spanning a two-year period when she was just 5 or 6 years old. In text messages to the mother, Smith acknowledged abusing the victim, and those messages were admitted during the trial.

At sentencing, the victim and her parents provided victim impact statements. The victim told Judge Walker that Smith destroyed her childhood innocence, while her parents said the whole family continues to struggle with the damage he had caused. The mother also testified that she hoped the defendant would get life in prison and that he lived to be 100 years old.