A man who was found in the company of a 14-year-old runaway girl last year at the Texarkana Public Library was sentenced Tuesday to eight years in prison.
Devonta Vashun Smith, 24, pleaded guilty Tuesday to indecency with a child by exposure and violating sex offender registration requirements with a prior conviction. He received an eight-year term as part of a plea bargain with credit for time served.
Smith was arrested in July 2019 after he was found with a girl who had been reported as a runaway on Texarkana library property. Smith admitted to sexual contact with the girl during an interview with police, according to a probable cause affidavit. Smith admitted he and the girl spent a night together in an abandoned house.
Smith is required to register as a sex offender because of previous offense he committed as a juvenile which involved a male victim.
Smith was sentenced Tuesday to two eight-year sentences which he will serve concurrently. Assistant District Attorney Randle Smolarz prosecuted the case. Smith was represented by Assistant Public Defender Deborah Moore.
