Ex-Tory councillor, 33, is found guilty of sexually abusing two teenage boys more than a decade ago after grooming them with cash, gifts and cannabis
- David Smith, 33, was found guilty of 11 counts of child sex offences a decade ago
- The former councillor’s two victims were teenage boys when they were targeted
- One was groomed and repeatedly sexually assaulted by Smith over four years
A former Tory councillor has been found guilty of a string of historic child sex abuse offences.
A jury has unanimously found David Smith guilty of 11 counts of inciting, or engaging in sexual activity with a child, over a decade ago.
Teesside Crown Court heard harrowing evidence of the sexual abuse during the trial – the two victims were teenage boys when Smith targeted them.
The allegations only came to light in 2016 when the first victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, broke down and told his mother and girlfriend.
David Smith, 33, was unanimously found guilty of 11 counts of inciting, or engaging in sexual activity with a child, over a decade ago
The boy said in a police interview how the impact of alleged abuse had a lasting effect on his life.
He told officers: ‘It gradually got more and more as it gone along until he was basically molesting me.
‘But I gradually thought “this is wrong”, I knew then that he shouldn’t be doing that but I said nothing because I was embarrassed.’
He was groomed and repeatedly sexually assaulted by Smith over a four-year period. The court heard he has been massively affected by the abuse; his former girlfriend said it had ‘destroyed their relationship’ and he was ‘traumatised’ by what had happened to him.
The court heard how Smith gave the boy cash and bought him gifts; as well as taking him on trips to Edinburgh and to Liverpool.
The victim said: ‘He used to buy me all sorts – he must have spent £6,000 to £10,000 on me easy.
‘It was clothes, it was drugs, I used to smoke cannabis a lot and he used buy me it. He used to buy me it every day, at least £20 a day.
‘After I smoked it I would just go to sleep and when I woke up, he would be touching me.’
Teesside Crown Court heard harrowing evidence of the sexual abuse during the trial
Due to a number of delays, including the trial being moved due to the Covid pandemic, Smith finally had to face his accusers in court.
He repeatedly exposed himself to the second victim – who was also a teenage boy at the time – before trying to persuade him to perform a sex act.
The victim said he fled, telling the court: ‘He would flash me and as a kid I was shocked and didn’t know where to put myself.
‘After a month and a half, it went from flashing at me to him asking me to touch him. It got to the point where he was getting closer to me and got more insistent as found he was getting away with it.’
The 33-year-old, who stood down as a Middlesbrough councillor after he was charged with the offences, denied the allegations throughout his trial.
Smith, of Rainsford Crescent in Middlesbrough, was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on May 16.
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