District Attorney Erleigh Norville Wiley announced Friday March 12th the conviction of David Monroe Smitherman, 53, for criminal solicitation of a minor, a second-degree felony offense, and unlawful restraint of a child less than 17 years of age, a state jail felony offense. On August 14, 2020, a grand jury indicted Smitherman for both offenses. On March 2, 2021, following a two-day trial before the Honorable Judge Shelton T.W. Gibbs IV in the 422nd District Court of Kaufman County, a jury found Smitherman guilty.
After the jury found Smitherman guilty of criminal solicitation of a minor and unlawful restraint of a child less than 17 years of age, the punishment phase of the trial began. Smitherman faced a sentence of 2 to 20 years in the Texas Department Criminal Justice Division (“TDCJ”) for criminal solicitation of a minor and 6 months to 2 years in the TDCJ-State Jail Facility for the unlawful restraint of a child less than 17 years of age.
After deliberation, the jury assessed Smitherman’s punishment at 15 years in the TDCJ state penitentiary and 2 years in the TDCJ state jail facility.
Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Heather Ragsdale and Robyn Beckham led the prosecution with the assistance of District Attorney Investigator Daniel Hargrove. We would like to recognize the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Chad Higgins and Deputy Kevin Shaw, Kaufman County Children’s Advocacy Center, and other state agencies that assisted with the prosecution of this case, and helped send a clear message that crimes against children are not tolerated in Kaufman County.
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