Lincoln man sentenced to 35 years imprisonment for sexually assaulting a child

 

[May 28, 2024] 

On January 3, 2024, Devin Smith (d.o.b.: 3-12-92), of the 100 block of Webster Drive, Lincoln, Illinois, pled guilty to Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Child, a Class X felony. Judge Jonathan Wright accepted the plea of guilty and Smith was sentenced on May 15, 2024.

In January of 2023, Smith met an eleven-year-old child and her brother while the siblings were walking their dog. Smith exchanged phone numbers with the child and began texting her. Through the texts, the child made it clear that she was 11. Smith, then 31, sent the child nude photographs of himself and requested the child’s address. Smith then went to the child’s home and had sex with the child.

In sentencing the defendant to 35 years imprisonment, Judge Wright stated that it was hard for him to find much in the way of mitigation, other than saving the child from having to testify. At the time of the offense, Smith was on pretrial release for possessing child pornography in a Richland County case.

Smith’s other criminal history includes: 2009 Battery (Class A misdemeanor) in Richland County; 2014 Possession of Stolen Firearm (Class 2 felony) in Franklin County; and 2021 Felony Battery and Domestic Battery by Strangulation in Okaloosa County, Florida.

In pleading guilty to sexually assaulting the child, Smith had faced a minimum sentence of 6 years and a maximum sentence of 60 years of imprisonment. Smith was given credit for 456 days he served in pretrial detention. Pursuant to Illinois law, Smith must serve at least 85% of his sentence, and upon his release, he must register as a sexual predatory for the remainder of his life.

[Bradley M. Hauge,
Logan County State's Attorney]