Ash Grove man charged with multiple counts of sodomy, against multiple victims

An Ash Grove man was booked into the Lawrence County Jail on Monday, March 16, and is accused of multiple counts of forcible and statutory sodomy. Nathaniel A. Smith, 36, faces 10 counts in all; four counts of first-degree statutory sodomy, and six counts of forcible sodomy.

Original charges
Smith was originally charged with the four counts of statutory sodomy in June of 2013. At that time, the victim, a female relative of Smith’s who was under the age of 12 at the time the alleged abuse occurred, was interviewed at a child’s advocacy center after the girl’s mother contacted the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office to report Smith.
According to the probable cause statement in the case, the girl stated during the interview that on three occasions, Smith made her perform a sexual act on him. And that several times he came into her room and touched her inappropriately. The girl also reported that Smith did these things to her as punishment, and that he told her that if she told anyone, he would go away for a very long time.

New charges
New charges have been brought against Smith as a result of the investigation into the original charges. According to the probable cause statement filed in the new case, Lawrence County Prosecuting Attorney Don Trotter and Lt. Chris Berry of the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office traveled to the Fayetteville, Ark. area in February of this year, where they spoke with two women regarding Smith.
One woman said that when she was between the ages of 8 and 10, Smith asked her to remove her pants to play a game, but her mother addressed the matter. She reported that was the only time when Smith was sexually inappropriate with her.
Another woman interviewed by Trotter and Berry stated sexual things happened between herself and Smith a number of times for many years. When it began, she was three or four years old; it ended when she made him stop during the weekend of her 16th birthday.
The woman also stated by the time she was old enough to realize what was happening was wrong, it was “a normal thing” and that she would tell him “no,” but eventually she would just let it happen.
Smith was charged with six additional counts of forcible sodomy.

Scheduled hearings:
According to online records, Smith has had jury trials for the original charges scheduled for September of 2016, May of 2017, July of 2017, May of 2018, August of 2018, and February of 2020. These trial dates were each rescheduled due to a motion for a continuance filed by the defense or prosecution, with the exception of the May 2018 court date, which was rescheduled due to a “case with priority setting proceeding at the same time.”
At present, he is scheduled to go to trial on Wednesday, May 20, with a pretrial conference schedule for Tuesday, April 14. A Chapter 491 hearing, which is used to determine whether testimony given by a child under the age of 14 or a vulnerable person is admissible, is also scheduled for April 14. A preliminary hearing for the new round of charges is scheduled for Monday, April 13. Smith remains in the custody of the Lawrence County Jail, where he is being held without bond.