Sisters man convicted of luring minor to meet for sex

Published 7:00 am Saturday, October 14, 2017

A Sisters man was found guilty of luring a minor after a jury convicted him of three charges stemming from a meeting a girl at a Burger King last year.

Matthew Taylor Smith, 36, stopped at the restaurant to grab a burger on his way home from work on Oct. 6, 2016. There, he saw a teen sitting with her mother. According to testimony given in trial this week, Smith thought the teen was drinking her soda in a sexual manner to entice him.

Smith left a note for the girl explaining he was attracted to her but wasn’t looking for a girlfriend.

“Hook up?” the note asked, before leaving his phone number, according to testimony.

Smith testified in court that he thought the victim was an adult and has never had interest in having sex with underage girls. However, after Smith left the note, the mother of the victim gave it to the Redmond Police Department. Several officers spent that evening and the next day texting Smith, pretending to be the 15-year-old girl, according to testimony.

Smith engaged in an incredibly graphic sexual conversation with the undercover police. When Smith asked for a photo, the police sent a sexual picture of a vagina they found on the internet. Smith responded by sending a picture of his penis.

Smith arranged to meet up with the victim for sex on Oct. 7 at Sawyer Park in Bend. When he arrived, Redmond Police officers arrested him. Smith was charged with luring a minor, first-degree online sexual corruption of a child and second-degree attempted sexual abuse.

Smith pleaded not guilty to all counts and on Tuesday stood trial. The jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts Wednesday evening.

Smith’s attorney, Todd Grover, did not deny the allegations. However, he argued Smith would not have attempted to have sex with a minor if he hadn’t been induced to do so by police. The case is about entrapment, he said.

“They systematically worked to overcome Matthew Smith’s objections to having sex with a child,” Grover told the jury.

Smith took the stand and gave lengthy testimony about his past, growing up with an alcoholic mom in Tumalo and Lincoln City. His mother often would come home late with strange men, Smith said, and wake Smith up and tell him to get into his brother’s bed, which was on the other side of the single bedroom. Smith said he would witness his mom having sex. One of these men sexually abused Smith, he said.

Exposure to this at such a young age put Smith’s life into a tailspin, he said. He went on to use drugs and alcohol heavily as a child.

Starting at that very young age of 4 or 5, Smith developed a preoccupation with sex, Grover said. It was something he never shook. Smith testified that up into his late 20s, he sought out women in their mid 30s to early 40s in chat rooms, having graphic sexual conversations.

This all led to Smith’s encounter at the Burger King, and subsequently exchanging 380 text messages with police. Grover argued that police abandoned their training, which dictates that officers can allow for the opportunity of the crime, but cannot work to convince someone to commit a crime. They are supposed to play hard to get. Grover argued that they did the opposite.

“This was a girl who was literally throwing herself at him,” Grover said of the police pretending to be the victim.

Ultimately, the jury sided with the police and prosecutors, finding Smith guilty of all charges. He will be sentenced Nov. 1.

— Reporter: 541-383-0376, awieber@bendbulletin.com