THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 10, 1996 TAG: 9609100304
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: 49 lines
Emmett E. ``Satch'' Smith Jr., 42, of East Lake, was sentenced to serve three years in a state prison Monday after pleading guilty to six counts of taking indecent liberties with minors.
Smith also received five years of probation and a nine-year suspended sentence which will go into effect after he is released from prison. He must pay a $1,000 fine and seek mental health therapy. And he is not allowed to be around children - except for his own - unless he's in public, said Assistant District Attorney Robert Trivette, who prosecuted the felony case in Dare County Superior Court.
Smith was taken to Raleigh and put behind bars after his plea Monday and may be transferred to another prison later.
He managed the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center in Nags Head for at least 10 years, overseeing maintenance of the marina on National Park Service land and booking reservations for about 30 charter fishing boats.
``As far as we know, Mr. Smith did not have any prior convictions,'' Trivette said. ``We dropped two charges of crimes against nature in exchange for his plea. And he pled guilty to all six counts of indecent liberties that we'd charged him with.''
The offenses occurred between August 1987 and September 1992 against three Dare County girls and a boy. At the time, all of the victims were juveniles. All of the victims are children of Smith's acquaintances.
Smith pleaded guilty to committing sexual acts with the boy, who was 15 at the time, and fondling the boy between June 1988 and December 1989. Offenses against the girls - who were ages 10 to 13 at the time of the first crimes - involved fondling them. Some of the incidents spanned periods of more than two years with each individual.
``They occurred in various places: on a hunting trip in East Lake, at a church, in the defendant's car, at his house,'' Trivette said. ``The families of the victims were aware of the incidents. But they didn't come forward until March 1996 after officials with the social services department contacted the sheriff's office who informed the State Bureau of Investigations.
``All of the kids are in college now,'' said Trivette. ``Mr. Smith got to feeling bad and confessed. He didn't really make any statement on his behalf in court today.
``Unfortunately, it's all too typical of indecent liberties cases we're seeing when the offenses occur against children by a friend of the family,'' Trivette said. ``They take advantage of that relationship. It's a sad situation.''
KEYWORDS: SEX CRIME CHILD MOLESTER ARREST
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