Smith
Charges involve
victim under
12 years old
Yet another Sampson County man is facing felony child sex charges, jailed earlier this week and, as of press time, still behind bars.
Sampson County Sheriff’s reports show that Justin Michael Smith was arrested Tuesday after meeting with detectives and charged with taking indecent liberties with a child under the age of 12, crimes against nature, and two counts of statutory sexual offense with a child by an adult.
Although Capt. Marcus Smith did not provide the age of the youngster, who lives in the Salemburg area, he did reiterate that the child was under 12.
Detectives, he said, were contacted by a caregiver and, following an investigation, the suspect came to the Sheriff’s Department and was interviewed by detectives.
He was arrested without incident.
Smith remained jailed Friday afternoon under a $400,000 secured bond.
This is the second person in less than a week taken into custody and charged with child sex offenses.
Earlier this week, the Independent reported that a 23-year-old had been arrested last week on sexual assault charges involving a 15-year-old girl.
In that case, Jose Gillen Escoto, 31 Bobwhite Lane, was taken into custody April 17 on the felony charge. That case was referred to detectives by the Department of Social Services on April 9.
Escoto was still behind bars Friday afternoon, jailed under a $100,000 bond.