TRENTON
- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal
Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced
that a Paterson man was sentenced to state
prison today for sexually assaulting a girl
who was under the age of 13.
According
to Director Taylor, Paul Smith, 43, of Paterson,
was sentenced to 12 years in state prison
by Superior Court Judge Marilyn C. Clark
in Passaic County. He pleaded guilty to
first-degree aggravated sexual assault on
Nov. 4, 2010.
In
pleading guilty, Smith admitted that between
1999 and 2001, he sexually assaulted a girl
under the age of 13 on at least two occasions.
Smith was sentenced to prison in 2007 in
the case, after being convicted at trial
of sexual assault and endangering the welfare
of a child. However, that conviction was
overturned by the New Jersey Supreme Court
based a legal ruling made during the trial.
Deputy
Attorney General Annmarie Taggart prosecuted
the case for the Division of Criminal Justice
and represented the state at the sentencing
hearing.
The
investigation was coordinated by State Investigator
LaMonica Cross, Taggart and Deputy Attorney
General Dermot O’Grady. The Division
of Criminal Justice superseded the Passaic
County Prosecutor’s Office to prosecute
the case due to a conflict of interest.
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