(From Henry County Prosecuting Attorney Richard Shields, April 7)
Story Courtesy of The Clinton Daily Democrat
The Henry County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office announces that on March 30, 2021, Michael Adam Smith, 32, Clinton, was sentenced to serve a term of seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections for his conviction of two counts of possession of child pornography.
The charges stem from an investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The charges the Prosecutor’s Office filed against Smith alleged that he possessed numerous images and a video of child pornography.
Assistant Prosecutor LaChrisha Gray prosecuted the case on behalf of the State of Missouri. Smith was represented by his attorney.
Smith pled guilty to his charges with an agreement that the State would request a ten-year sentence and the defendant would ask that the defendant be sent to the Missouri Department of Corrections Sex Offender Assessment Unit to determine whether he should remain incarcerated after 120 days in prison or be put on a term of probation and undergo rehabilitation in the community. Ultimately, the court would decide what sentence to impose after a sentencing assessment report was prepared.
At the sentencing hearing, the court heard evidence and argument from both sides. Assistant Prosecutor LaChrisha Gray urged the court to impose the maximum sentence under the agreement due to the nature of the pornography, the fact that one of the defendant’s devices had been destroyed by the defendant, and that he had admittedly been accessing child pornography for a number of years. After careful consideration, Henry County Circuit Judge M. Brandon Baker agreed with Assistant Prosecutor Gray’s request that Smith be sentenced to a term in prison without the possibility of being released after the 120 days assessment. Judge Baker sentenced Smith to seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.
