Woodstock man get 50 years in prison for molesting 15-year-old girl
Collin Anthony Smerk (Cherokee County Sheriff's Office)
CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. - A Woodstock man will be spending at least 50 years in prison after being convicted of molesting a 15-year-old girl in 2017.
Collin Anthony Smerk, 52, was sentenced earlier this month after being convicted for child molestation, enticing a child for indecent purposes, sexual exploitation of children, and invasion of privacy in March.
The incident happened during a visit by the teen to the Smerk’s Cherokee County home, but wasn’t reported until February 2020. The teenage girl also told investigators she believed she was secretly recorded during her stay.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on Smerk’s home on Valentine’s Day 2020. Inside the home, deputies seized a large quantity of digital evidence, including computers, electronics, and digital storage devices. On those devices, investigators later found various images of very young children being sexually assaulted by adults.
Investigators also discovered a hidden digital camera was placed in the basement bathroom recording images of visitors taking showers and using a bathroom in Smerk’s home.
Adult toys matching the description given by the teen were also taken into evidence.
"As we prosecuted this case, it became more and more apparent that Collin Smerk’s sexual deviance manifested itself in many ways and escalated over time," said Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Katie Gropper, of the Special Victims Unit. "His pornography consumption had themes of child sexual abuse and voyeurism that eventually became his playbook. With little regard for who he hurt, Mr. Smerk violated the privacy of visitors in his home and he manipulated and sexually violated a vulnerable child in order to satisfy his own selfish desires."
A jury took only two hours to return a guilty verdict for Smerk on March 24. The victim then read an impact statement to the court expressing how the conviction means she will no longer need to fear Smerk.
"This defendant betrayed and used a child for his own sick pleasure. Then, when faced with a trial, he further traumatized the victim who had to take the stand and testify about his perverse behavior," said District Attorney Shannon Wallace. "This sentence protects other innocent children, punishes this defendant for his actions, and provides justice for victim in this case."
On May 2, Superior Court Judge Tony Baker sentenced Smerk to 70 years with the first 50 years to be served in confinement and the remainder to be served on probation. Once released, he will have no contact with the victim, is banned from Cherokee County, and must register as a sexual offender.