For Immediate Release
Nov. 8, 2024
A Kansas City man was sentenced to 35 years in prison today for a series of crimes against a young child who was found naked in the area of Brush Creek in 2019, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced today.
Gerald Smith was convicted of Statutory Sodomy in the 1st Degree, Assault in the 1st Degree and Endangering the Welfare of a Child. He was sentenced today to 20 years on the Statutory Sodomy conviction and 15 years on the Assault in the 1st Degree conviction. Those were sentenced to run consecutively for a total of 35 years. The Endangering the Welfare of a Child conviction was sentenced to 7 years and was set by the judge to run concurrently to the Assault conviction.
According to court records, police were dispatched Sept. 13, 2019 to the area Blue Parkway and Lawn on a reported found juvenile. The caller told responding officers that he had seen a naked girl in the middle of the road. Officers found the child. The girl was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. KCPD detectives used video, cell phone records and other data to pinpoint the defendant. In April 2020, Detectives were notified that the defendant's DNA was found on the child victim.
The prosecutor's office has made every effort to protect the identity of this victim.
Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys Harrison Blue and Nichole Erickson prosecuted the case on behalf of the state of Missouri.
For more information, contact:
Michael Mansur
Director of Communication
Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office
Jean Peters Baker, Prosecutor
(816) 881-3812
(816) 674-3954
mmansur@jacksongov.org
https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com