Convicted sex offender arrested, jailed after alleged probation violations

A man who pleaded guilty to statutory rape at 23 in 2014 after admitting to having consensual sex with a 14-year-old is back behind bars. The defendant, Keith Smith, landed himself in custody for allegedly committing probation violations, which included failing to pass a drug test and investigators reportedly discovering porn on his cellphone.

During a hearing in the Superior Court of Coffee County over eight years ago, evidence showed that Smith and the victim were at a party at the Fountain Inn motel in July 2014 when the two engaged in intercourse. 

DouglasNow previously reported that after pleading guilty to the offense, a Superior Court judge sentenced Smith to 20 years probation due to the act of "not being forced" and him having no prior convictions.

However, in 2016, local law enforcement released a BOLO for Smith, reporting that he had absconded. After Smith was located, a petition to modify his conditions was granted in court, and Smith was sentenced to prison. He was booked into custody in November 2017 at the Georgia Diagnostic Center and released in December 2021.

Last week, a little over a year after his release, Smith, now 30 years old, was arrested and is back in the Coffee County Jail after a probation violation. A copy of the warrant alleges that on November 30, Smith tested positive for amphetamines and methamphetamine while failing to complete a substance abuse assessment. On the same day, investigators also reported they had discovered that Smith had visited several pornographic sites on his cellphone. 

In Georgia, a special condition of being a registered sex offender includes the prohibition of "possessing or subscribing to any sexually oriented or sexually stimulating material, to include mail, computer, or television, and not patronizing any place where such material or entertainment is available."

Smith has not been granted a bond and remains in the Coffee County Jail.