Holland man charged with raping eighth-grader

Thu, Nov 5, 2009    to del.icio.us

ALLEGAN COUNTY — A Holland man will face trial on multiple charges of raping and assaulting a teenage girl in an Allegan home. One of the attacks allegedly occurred as he prepared a bottle for a newborn baby.

James Todd Smith, 43, faces five counts of criminal sexual conduct. Two of those counts were added Wednesday after the tearful victim, who knows Smith, testified in a preliminary exam in Allegan County District Court before Judge Joseph Skocelas. Smith faces two counts of first-degree and three of second-degree CSC.

A preliminary exam is when a judge determines if there is enough evidence to send a case to trial.

Smith, who remains in the Allegan County Jail, will appear in Allegan County Circuit Court later this month.

Three incidents occurred in the summer and fall of 2007 when the victim was in eighth grade, according to the victim's testimony.

Allegan City Police Department Officer Chad Dame testified he began investigating the case in April 2009, interviewing Smith, who then denied the allegations.

At a later interview with a Kalamazoo detective, Smith admitted to inappropriate contact but denied raping the teen, Dame said.

The first incident happened at the Allegan home when Smith was making a bottle for a baby in the house, according to the victim, who spoke quietly, often hiding her face behind her hands.

Smith assaulted the teen while she was on the couch, stopping when it was time to take the bottle upstairs to the baby, the victim testified.

A second incident occurred at a party at the same Allegan house in which the adults and victim were drinking, the victim said.

On another occasion, Smith inappropriately touched the victim while he was cooking dinner and children were in the yard playing.

"Every time I tried to walk away, he grabbed my arm," the victim said during 30 minutes on the witness stand.

Smith sat across the courtroom, occasionally leaning over to speak with his attorney Robert Champion.