March 31, 11

NEWS / Paterson Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Sexually Assaulting a Young Girl

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 The Division of Criminal Justice superseded the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office to prosecute the case due to a conflict of interest.

http://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases11/pr20110329a.html