Capitol News

Edward Eugene Smith, 35, formerly of Cadillac, Michigan and most recently living in Seattle, Washington, has been sentenced to 10 to 30 years in prison for crimes committed in 2018 against a 14-year-old victim. The sentencing took place in the 28th Circuit Court in Wexford County with visiting Judge Bill Fagerman presiding. Smith entered a no contest plea in September to charges including Child Sexually Abusive Activity, Accosting a Minor for Immoral Purposes, and Using a Computer to Commit Child Sexually Abusive Activity.

The case began in 2018 when Smith, then 28, convinced a 14-year-old high school student to pose partially nude for photographs in his apartment. A roommate found the images on Smith’s device and reported them to authorities. Smith was charged by the Wexford County Prosecuting Attorney that year but left Michigan soon after.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel commented on the outcome: “The bravery of the victim and a roommate who reported this crime, combined with the dedicated work of the Cadillac Police Department, the Wexford County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, U.S. Marshall’s Office, and the Oasis Family Resource Center, ensured that this offender was held accountable and the victim received the support she needed,” Nessel said. “My office will continue to work with our partners to bring justice to victims of sexual abuse.”

The victim provided a statement to the court describing ongoing trauma: “The trauma you caused has stuck with me physically, my skin reacting to the chemicals released by one’s brain when they get put through such horrendous things. It burns, it cracks and separates. It constantly dries out and is itching; almost as if my skin itself cries out and claims if it is ugly, no one will do such things to me again.”

She also wrote about her resolve moving forward: “I will relish in every day I get to heal and grow and do things I want, when I want. Raising my sons into fine young men who will do everything they can to protect the people around them from folks like you because they will know what is right and what is wrong.”

Smith was arrested in Seattle in February as part of Operation Survivor Justice, a collaborative effort between the Michigan Department of Attorney General, local county prosecutors, and the U.S. Marshals Service aimed at locating and returning fugitive offenders with outstanding sexual assault warrants to Michigan.