Leroy Township resident gets life in prison for rape of minor between 2001 and 2004
Nov. 11—Leroy Township resident Charles Frank Smith has been sentenced to life in prison with a possibility of parole after 25 years, with the 81-year-old pleading guilty to a count of raping a minor younger than 13 between 2001 and 2004.
Smith will also be required to register as a sexually-oriented offender for a period of 10 years, according to the sentence handed down on Nov. 9 by Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge Vincent A. Culotta.
A total of four individuals reported that Smith sexually abused them as minors between 2001 and 2008, stated a news release from the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
The Sheriff's Office said that it first received a report of Smith's activities in August 2022. An adult male reported being sexually abused from 2001 to 2004, starting at the age of 10.
It added that Smith and the reported victim lived in the same neighborhood at the time.
The release stated that the Sheriff's Office Detective Bureau investigated the report and learned of three more reported victims, who said that Smith sexually abused them between 2004 and 2008.
"All four victims stated the abuse occurred at Charles' residence in Leroy Township," the release said. "All victims in this case were under the age of 13 when they were first victimized."
Court records state that a county grand jury indicted Smith on 16 counts on July 14, including three counts of rape for a victim under 13, an additional count of rape, 11 counts of gross sexual imposition and one count of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
He initially pleaded not guilty to all counts before changing to a guilty plea on the first count of rape for a victim under 13 on Oct. 24, according to a court document. The date range was expanded to include dates from two other counts, with the amended count spanning between 2001 and 2004.
The document said that the state would move to dismiss the other counts at the time of sentencing.
