Kentucky man accused of hiding a missing teenager from North Carolina

Christopher Leach
·2 min read
5

A Kentucky man has been accused of assaulting a missing North Carolina juvenile after the minor was found inside the man’s home in a secret room, according to court documents.

Deputies with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to 34-year-old Zackary Smith’s residence in Lincoln County on Christmas day after receiving a report of a possible domestic altercation. Court documents say Smith told deputies his “girlfriend” was not at the home, but Smith’s mother, the original caller who submitted the complaint, told deputies that was untrue and the girl was indeed home.

While officers were searching the home, they found the girl hidden behind a trap door underneath a rug in the bedroom, according to court documents. The victim was a 16-year-old girl who had been missing from North Carolina for just under three weeks.

The girl told deputies she had been assaulted and strangled by Smith and engaged in sexual relations with him, according to court documents. Smith admitted to driving to North Carolina to pickup the teenager and admitted to having sex with her repeatedly, but denied the assault and strangulation allegations. There were visible marks on her throat, according to court documents.

Smith lied about his age after initially contacting the girl, saying he was 19. Court documents say he threatened to kill her multiple times and demanded her to tell people that she was 18.

The night Smith picked up the minor, they were pulled over by a Lincoln County sheriff’s deputy. Court documents say Smith planned to shoot the deputy if they asked him or the minor to step out of the vehicle.

Drug paraphernalia and residue was also found in Smith’s home, according to court documents. He allegedly tried to destroy the evidence by disposing it in a wood stove.

Smith faces dozens of charges: 10 counts of third-degree rape, 10 counts of third-degree sodomy, two counts of first-degree unlawful transaction with a minor, first-degree strangulation, fourth-degree assault, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, electronically procuring or promoting the use of a minor, third-degree terroristic threatening, resisting arrest, buy/possess drug paraphernalia, possession of cocaine, and tampering with physical evidence, according to court documents.