DAVID SMITH, FORMER TORY COUNCILLOR IN MIDDLESBROUGH, FOUND GUILTY OF CHILD SEX OFFENCES
David Smith, a former Tory councillor from Middlesbrough, has been convicted of multiple child sexual offences.A jury at Teesside Crown Court unanimously found Smith guilty of 11 counts involving encouraging or engaging in sexual activity with a minor, committed over ten years ago.
The court heard distressing evidence during the trial, revealing that the victims were teenage boys when targeted.
One of the victims was groomed and subjected to repeated sexual assaults by Smith over four years.
His former girlfriend testified that the abuse had severely impacted him, stating it had "destroyed their relationship" and that he was "traumatised" by the experience.
The court learned that Smith provided the boy with money and gifts, took him on trips to Edinburgh and Liverpool, and spent between 6,000 and 10,000 pounds on him.
The victim described, "He used to buy me all sorts—clothes, drugs.
I used to smoke cannabis a lot, and he would buy me it.
He bought it for me almost every day—at least 20 a day.
After I smoked it, I’d just go to sleep, and when I woke up, he was touching me." The second victim, also a teenage boy at the time, was repeatedly exposed by Smith.
The court heard that Smith initially flashed himself at the boy and attempted to persuade him to perform a sex act.
The victim explained, "He would flash me, and as a kid, I was shocked and didn't know how to react." Over approximately a month and a half, Smith's behaviour escalated from flashing to asking the boy to touch him, becoming more insistent and closer to him.
Smith, aged 33 and residing on Rainsford Crescent in Middlesbrough, has been remanded in custody and is scheduled for sentencing on May 16.
