back to top
HomeNewsCrimeMan Sentenced Up To 775 Years In Prison For Filming Sex Abuse...

Man Sentenced Up To 775 Years In Prison For Filming Sex Abuse Of Infant

Published on

- Advertisement -spot_img

A West Virginia man convicted of filming an infant being sexually abused will likely spend life in prison.

Kanawha Circuit Judge Tera Salango sentenced Richard Smith II, 41, on Wednesday to serve between 205 and 775 years behind bars.

Smith was convicted last month of 11 counts of first-degree sexual abuse, four counts of sexual assault and five counts of sexual abuse by a parent, guardian, custodian or person in position of trust.

Debra Rusnak, an assistant Kanawha County prosecutor, spoke on behalf of the family and gave a blistering statement in which she called Smith a monster.

“I stand here today, and I think of only one word and that word is monster,” Rusnak said. “It’s ironic because parents go throughout their children’s lives teaching them that monsters don’t exist. And, no, monsters may not be hiding under the bed or in the closet, but make no mistake about it, monsters do exist and Richard Smith is nothing short of a monster.”

Rusnak said the things he did to the child “are things that nightmares are made of. I know that myself, my co-counsel, the court, the investigating officers and the jury will never forget the things that we watched and the things that we heard throughout the course of this trial.”

After handing down the sentence, Salango told Smith the videos he made that jurors had to watch “brought grown men to tears,” the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported.

“I think that you are one of the most evil persons who I’ve ever encountered,“I’ve worked in law enforcement and I have been a judge for a while. You are certainly the epitome of evil. I’m going to make sure you never do this to any other child for the rest of your life.” Salango said.

Smith declined to speak before being sentenced.

Smith and his ex-girlfriend, Roseanna Thompson, were arrested in May 2018 and accused of recording Thompson’s granddaughter being abused three years prior, state police said at the time. The arrests came after troopers were tipped off that Smith had child pornography at his home, news outlets reported.

Thompson is scheduled to stand trial in April.

Related

Shincheonji Taekwondo Team Wins Medals Again At International Competition, Shining On The Global Stage

At the 2025 Park Chung-hee Cup International Open Taekwondo Championships: 4 Gold, 7 Silver,...

Bebe Cool Reflects On Key Lessons From His Kenya and Dar es Salaam Media Tour

After two weeks in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, promoting his Break the Chains...

Kadaga Dumps Namuganza As Allies Suffer Defeat In NRM Primaries

Veteran politician and First Deputy Prime Minister, Rt Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, appears to have...

Minister Kasolo In Hot Soup Over Alleged Orungo Voter Attacks Accused Of Orchestrating Violence Fo Intimidate Opponents in NRM Primaries

A political storm is brewing in Orungo sub-county after shocking allegations emerged linking Uganda’s...

More from The Capital Times

Business Boom In Namugongo Ahead Of Martyrs Day

Business has picked up this morning at Namugongo Martyrs shrine according to traders. The...

Minister Kasolo In Hot Soup Over Alleged Orungo Voter Attacks Accused Of Orchestrating Violence Fo Intimidate Opponents in NRM Primaries

A political storm is brewing in Orungo sub-county after shocking allegations emerged linking Uganda’s...

African contemporary singer Liboi pairs up with Kenyan producer Kayrop on new single “twende sote”

NAIROBI - JULY 11, 2025 — African contemporary singer Liboi has teamed up withKenyan...