Bruce William Smith, 30, of Grand Marais was charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree on May 16, 2014.
The charges followed a May 9, 2014 report made to Cook County Human Services about possible criminal sexual conduct and the matter was referred to the Cook County Sheriff ’s Office. The reporter related concerns about a relationship between Smith and a juvenile female dating back to May 2013.
An interview with a 16-yearold Cook County girl took place on May 15. The girl told a sheriff deputy, a Violence Prevention Center advocate and her mother that her relationship with Smith became sexually active in August 2013. At that time the girl was 15 years old. The girl stated that the sexual activity had occurred twice and was consensual. She referred to the defendant as her “best friend.”
In the interview, the girl said after the sexual encounters, she and the defendant had talked and agreed they should stop the sexual activity, “because she was young and they both wanted her to go on on with her life.”
Five suggestive Facebook messages sent in August 2013 by the juvenile female to Smith and one conversation in which they are allegedly making arrangements to meet were shared with the deputy. A search warrant was sought to obtain evidence of this electronic interaction between Smith and the juvenile female.
It was determined that there was enough evidence to charge Smith and he was taken into custody on May 16, 2014 for engaging in sexual activity “with another person who was at least 13, but less than 16 years of age and the defendant was more than 24 months older than the complainant.”
Smith was released on bail on May 27, 2014 pending his court omnibus hearing before Judge Michael Cuzzo at 2:30 p.m. on July 14, 2014. The omnibus hearing determines whether there is probable cause and the judge hears any pretrial challenges.
Leave a Reply