FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. — A Fayette County man is facing child sex crime charges, false imprisonment and assault charges after starting a standoff when he was caught in bed with a child.
Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Marie Broder says Christopher Smith pleaded guilty to several charges related to a November 2022 incident.
The DA’s office says that a woman and her 9-year-old daughter were living with Smith from September to November of 2022. One November morning, the woman says she came home to find Smith naked and in bed with her frightened daughter, who was also naked.
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When she went to call 911, prosecutors say Smith took her phone. She then left the house, but he forced her back inside.
Once inside, Smith reportedly stabbed her in the arm with a knife.
Deputies arrived a short time later after the neighbors called 911 and the woman begged for help. Prosecutors say the child came to the door shaking in fear.
Authorities were able to get both the woman and her daughter out of the house, but Smith grabbed a knife and threatened to kill any deputies who came inside.
After being barricaded in the house for several hours, authorities were able to safely arrest Smith.
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Investigators later found several images on his phone that showed Smith had forced the girl to perform oral sex on him several times.
Judge W. Fletcher Sams sentenced Smith to life in prison and an additional 20 years of probation.
“The sentence was appropriate considering the defendant’s violent attack on the mother and the child, his threat of attack on law enforcement officers and the fact that the child will most likely suffer the negative effects of the defendant’s abuse for the rest of her life,” Assistant District Attorney Warren Sellers said.
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