A federal jury has sentenced a Vian man to 30 years in federal prison after being charged with a felony count of aggravated sexual abuse of a child in Indian country.
Joshua T. Smith, 41, of Vian, will have to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and be under supervision for 20 years, according to court documents.
In a former press release issued by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma in Muskogee, testimony began on June 27 and concluded on June 29, with the guilty verdict.
It was noted at that time, Smith could face 30 years to life imprisonment.
During the trial, the United States presented evidence that Smith sexually abused a child under the age of 12 from December 2017 through March 2018.
The guilty verdict was the result of an investigation by the Sequoyah County Sheriff ’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was originally filed in Sequoyah County District Court on May 25, 2018.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma prosecuted the case because the defendant is a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe and the crime occurred in Sequoyah County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation, and within the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
