Former Harrison School District Assistant Band Director Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Criminal Sexual Offenses Against Minor Students

            Fort Smith, Arkansas - Kenneth Elser, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Kyle Lee Smith, age 29 of Branson, Missouri was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison followed by five (5) years of supervised release on one count of Transportation of a Minor with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity and one count of Coercion and Enticement of a Minor.  The sentences are to run concurrent with each other.  The Honorable Chief Judge P. K. Holmes, III presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fort Smith.  

            According to court records, in August, 2015, the Harrison Police Department received a report that an assistant band director with the Harrison School District was engaging in a sexual relationship with an underage student. During the subsequent investigation, the student disclosed that Smith had invited her to his Missouri residence to engage in sexual activity with her.  She was able to provide law enforcement with evidence that substantiated that Smith had engaged in sexual activity with her.

            The resulting investigation revealed that Smith had also been engaging in sexually activity with a second female student. She was able to provide law enforcement with screen shots of her conversations with Smith, many of which were overtly sexual in nature.  Homeland Security Investigations obtained Snapchat records between Smith and the victims and found that hundreds of messages and images were sent between the victims and Smith. 

            “Preying on underage girls from a position of trust is a vile and heinous act”, said Special Agent in Charge of HSI New Orleans Raymond R. Parmer, Jr. “We expect people with access to our children to have their best interests at heart. We will continue to work diligently with our law enforcement partners to protect our children from predators like this.”

            The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations and the Harrison Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Dustin Roberts prosecuted the case for the United States.

            This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and their Criminal Division Child Exploitation and Obscenity Sections (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

*  *  *    E N D    *  *  *

Related court documents may be found on Public Access to Electronic Records Website @www.Pacer.gov