Centertown man sentenced 60 years for raping child

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Centertown man was sentenced to 60 years in prison for raping a child, according to a press release from Cole County Prosecuting Attorney Locke Thompson.

Dean Jason Smith, 41, pleaded guilty on Sept. 10 to first-degree rape, child molestation, endangering the welfare of a child and incest. He is currently being held at the Cole County Jail.

According to the press release, Cole County Sheriff’s deputies were called to a report of a vehicle parked on the side of the road near Centertown and saw Smith sexually assaulting a minor.

The release states that Smith had been assaulting the youth for years.

Smith is a sex offender and pleaded guilty to first-degree child molestation in 2011 in Moniteau County.