Featured Advertisers
Wed, Dec. 09  -   -  Mobile  -  RSS
YOUR TOWN:  Caroline | Culpeper | King George | Fredericksburg | Orange | Spotsylvania | Stafford | Westmoreland
  

Make a post about this story on FredTalk. Get a printer-friendly version of this page. E-mail this story to a friend.
View the Westmoreland County community page

Ex-coach pleads guilty to 4 felony sex charges

Former softball coach pleads guilty to soliciting sexually explicit material from members of team

Date published: 6/6/2008

BY FRANK DELANO

A former coach at Washington & Lee High School has pleaded guilty to four felony counts of soliciting sexually explicit material from members of a girls' softball team last year.

At a hearing Tuesday in Westmoreland County Circuit Court, Melvin Antonio Smith III, 21, also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of attempting to have sex with a child 15 years or older.

In a plea agreement, Smith's attorney, Vinceretta T. Chiles of Richmond, and Westmoreland Commonwealth's Attorney Dean J. Atkins recommended that the court sentence Smith to 41 years in prison with all but 18 months suspended.

The agreement also stipulates that Smith, who lived at Dunnsville in Essex County, register as a violent sex offender and avoid contact with his victims or their families.

In return for the guilty pleas, Atkins agreed not to prosecute seven other felony charges and one other misdemeanor count against Smith.

Smith will be sentenced July 16 by Circuit Judge Joseph E. Spruill Jr.

On July 14, Smith is scheduled to be tried in Richmond County Circuit Court on four felony charges of carnal knowledge of one of the players on the team, animate object penetration and taking indecent liberties.

Smith served for about a month last year as a volunteer softball coach at the school in Montross.

Frank Delano: 804/333-3834
Email: fpdelano@gmail.com



Follow us on
twitter
fredericksburg.com Facebook page


Date published: 6/6/2008


Most recent reader comments:

1 comment has been posted. (Sorted in reverse order, with most recent post at the top.)

Display comments on this page. | Sort:

PLEASE READ: These reader comments are not moderated. Each user is solely responsible for any message (s)he posts here. The Free Lance-Star does not endorse the views expressed within these comments. All users who post to this Web site must agree to the terms of the FredTalk User Agreement. We rely on our readers to police themselves, and report any content that violates our User Agreement. In accordance with our User Agreement, we reserve the right to remove any post at any time for any reason, and will restrict access of registered users who repeatedly violate our terms. Any reader can report inappropriate content by clicking the "Report this post to admins" link at the bottom of each comment. You need not be registered to report a post.

fry him (posted by hellokitty79 , June 6, 2008 10:36 pm)   
anyone who is a teacher should know coming in they are dealing with serious trust issues, more so than USUAL...pullleeeze....fry him...cut his balls off

What do you think?
Enter your FredTalk username and password to post a comment on this story. If you are registered on FredTalk or another part of this site, use that login here. Otherwise, you can just REGISTER here... .

Username: Password:

Post title:


Please keep it brief: (512-character limit)
Please make sure CAPS LOCK is off. Posts in ALL CAPS will be deleted.)


By checking this box, you agree to the terms of the FredTalk User agreement.