Washington Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Sexually Assaulting a Child

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Renton, Washington, man was sentenced in federal court today for traveling to Missouri to sexually assault a child victim.

Timothy Smith, 56, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Smith to spend the rest of his life on supervised release following incarceration.

On Nov. 9, 2020, Smith pleaded guilty to traveling across state lines to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

The investigation began in April 2018 when the child victim disclosed to a friend that she had been sexually victimized by Smith. This information -was conveyed to a school counselor, who notified the Missouri Department of Social Services. The child victim reported that Smith had sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions between the ages of five and 12. These assaults took place when he traveled from Washington to Missouri, both on the premises of Fort Leonard Wood and at a Missouri residence.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James Kelleher. It was investigated by the FBI and U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."