Ex-police officer convicted in sexual assault is the first to face tougher new penalty, DOJ says

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
Associated Press

The Justice Department says a former Oklahoma police officer convicted in the sexual assault of a woman during a traffic stop will become the first to face a heftier penalty under the 2022 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. Thirty-five-year-old Jeffrey Scott Smith Jr. is facing up to 40 years in prison after a jury found him guilty this week of a civil rights violation involving sexual assault. Prosecutors said he turned off his body camera and assaulted the woman in his patrol car after pulling over her boyfriend for speeding in a small Oklahoma town in 2022. Defense attorney John Cannon said Smith respects the jury’s verdict but maintains his innocence.