A Lima man who is facing over 80 charges involving sexual contact with a minor is trying to get some of the alleged victims’ statements thrown out.
Matthew Smith's lawyer is asking the judge to toss statements the three young female victims made to forensic interviewers that work for Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. He argues that since detectives from the Lima Police Department didn’t conduct the interviews themselves those statements can’t be used in Smith’s trial. The judge will watch the interview and rule later if they will be able to be used or not.
Smith was charged with 69 counts of rape. He is also charged with four counts of gross sexual imposition and 10 counts of sexual battery. According to the indictment, the victims' ages range from 8-years-old to 13-years-old at the time of the alleged sexual assaults, which started in March of 2019 to September of 2020.
