The District Attorney's Office considered Smith a serial child molester, having served two previous prison terms for lewd acts with a minor in 1983 and again in 1988. Three victims from these earlier cases were allowed to testify in court about the previous abuse, and we commend them for their courage. Sentencing laws in the 1980s were much less stringent than today's laws, which now allow for life without parole. With this sentence, the public is finally protected from this repeat offender.

District Attorney Ron Freitas on the outcome, "This sentence is a thundering verdict against evil. We have not just closed a case; we've fortified our community against predators. Let this be known: in San Joaquin County, we do not merely pursue justice, we enforce it with unrelenting vigor."