New California homeowner discovers child sex abuse material in walls, father and son sentenced

Two elderly men who sexually abused children decades ago have received lengthy prison sentences.

On January 7, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office declared that James Smith, age 66, was given a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 23 years, while Theadore Smith, age 90, was given a sentence of 100 years in prison.

The two entered guilty pleas to several counts of child molestation in November, which was followed by this sentencing. James Smith entered a guilty plea to two counts of lewd acts on a child, while Theadore Smith admitted to eleven counts of forcible lewd acts on a minor and three counts of lewd acts on a child. Both men admitted that their positions of trust and the carefully thought-out nature of their crimes were aggravating circumstances.

When the new owner of the Orangevale home where the Smiths had lived for more than 40 years found troubling evidence during renovations in 2021, the investigation into these horrible acts got underway. Videotapes and explicit Polaroid photos of child sexual abuse from the 1980s and 1990s were concealed inside the walls of an outbuilding. After the citizen informed law enforcement of this horrific discovery, detectives were able to identify and speak with the now-adult victims.

The homeowner spoke to KCRA-TV and said, “It was homemade pictures, and I could tell that the contents were not something that I should be involved in at all.”

Prosecutors stated that “the victims were under 5 years old when the abuse began, and it continued for the majority of their first decade in life.” The victims only told their spouses about the abuse and never reported it to anyone else.

Unfortunately, charges for abuse that took place prior to 1988 could not be brought because of statute of limitations restrictions. As a result, Theadore Smith’s charges relate to events that occurred in 1988 and later, whereas James Smith’s charges date back to 1993. The prosecution has a strong suspicion that the father and son worked together to commit some of the crimes.

In addition, investigators found proof that James Smith had sexually abused another child after 2010.

The defendants had been living in Texas when they were captured. Additional evidence of child sexual abuse was found during a search of their Texas home and property. When illegal child sexual abuse materials were discovered in James Smith’s possession, he was arrested on his way back to California.