Metro

HOLLIDAYSBURG — The Nanty-Glo man who raped and sexually assaulted a 14-year-old was sentenced to almost 17 to 49 years’ incarceration after being found guilty on all charges by a jury in early May.

James G. Smith Jr., 39, was convicted of felony counts of rape by force, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, corruption of minors and related misdemeanor counts.

Prior to sentencing, Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Mays requested a sentence of 21 to 42 years for Smith, saying the victim’s “innocence was destroyed as a grown man had sex with her” and “used video games to lure her in.”

“Even at the Children’s Advocacy Center, she was unable to articulate what happened to her,” Mays said.

He added that Smith’s attorney Ted Krol would use Smith’s cooperation with investigators as a way to ask for leniency. Mays said Smith’s “cooperation” looked like lies to police, hang-up calls and lying during trial.

Mays also asked for Smith to undergo cognitive behavioral therapy and no contact with the victim.

Krol said he thought a “10-year sentence would be rather extreme” and that Mays wanted “more (prison) time for an age component that’s already in the rape charge itself.” He then asked President Judge Wade A. Kagarise to “at least” run the sentences for Smith’s rape and statutory sexual assault convictions concurrently.

Krol described Smith as a “good father, a good son and a good husband for the third time he’s been married.”

“He’s never done anything that would make me worried about him being out in society,” Krol said.

Smith had several family members and friends provide character statements on his behalf before he was sentenced, the first of which was given by his wife. She told Kagarise that Smith was an “incredible role model for my son” and was “the heart of our family.”

In her victim impact statement, the victim, who is now 19 years old, said she has “tried hard to heal, but trauma doesn’t just go away.”

“Instead of feeling supported, I was made to feel like it was my fault,” she said.

The victim also described flashbacks and nightmares that left her “waking up screaming.”

When given the opportunity to speak, Smith maintained his innocence.

“I did not do what I’ve been convicted of,” Smith said. “I’ve been saying this since day one. No matter what sentence I receive today, I will still fight to clear my name.”

In addition to his 202 to 588 months’ incarceration, Smith was ordered to pay a fine of $1,100, undergo drug and alcohol treatment, behavioral therapy and provide a DNA sample. He received credit for time served and will have re-entry supervision of three years.

Smith’s sentencing is the end of a yearslong court and criminal case that began in 2022, when the victim told her art teacher and guidance counselor about what happened to her.

When state police investigated the report, the victim was taken to the Children’s Advocacy Center for an interview, where she said Smith came into her room while she was playing games with her friends online. She muted the headphones so her friends wouldn’t hear because she thought Smith was going to yell at her for being too loud.

During the interview, the victim was reluctant to say what happened and ended up writing, “I was hurt. The R Word. I don’t like saying that.”

Court documents state she wrote “Jimmy,” on a second page and wrote “he shut my door and I don’t want to remember.”

When asked about the “r,” the victim wrote “Rape” on the paper rather than saying it out loud. She also wrote that Smith touched her where he shouldn’t have, that it hurt and made her cry. The victim related that she felt like “he was stabbing me.”

Smith testified during May’s jury trial that he was never in the victim’s bedroom and denied ever being home alone with her, although when the victim’s mother testified, she said she trusted Smith to be alone with her daughter.

While the victim offered no specific dates, she said the second incident occurred in the fall of 2019 when her mother was in and out of the hospital with pregnancy-related issues.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.