SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — A Sarasota man is sentenced to life in prison for committing sexual battery of a child.
A jury convicted John Martin Smith, of Capital Sexual Battery upon a Child Less than 12 Years of Age.
On July 2, 2021, Sarasota Police detectives began investigating after a 7-year-old made an allegation of sexual battery against them.
The child said she was sexually abused by her stepfather identified as Smith.
After the investigation began Child Protection Center (CPC) and the Department of Children and Families Services (DCFS), prohibited Smith from having contact with his two stepchildren.
After several days, detectives located a second female victim who is now 30, and revealed that she, too, was sexually abused by Smith when she was under the age of 12.
On July 21, 2021, Detectives arrested Smith for the sexual battery of a victim under the age of 12.
On Thursday, the jury found John Martin Smith guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
