by Tom Chillemi –
Former Middlesex County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Franklin Smith Jr. of Locust Hill pleaded guilty in Middlesex Circuit Court on Feb. 14 to carnal knowledge of a detained person by a law-enforcement officer.
According to court records, Smith, 33, had been charged with two counts of forcible rape. However, he entered into a plea agreement in which one of the rape charges was amended to the lesser felony of carnal knowledge; and the other rape charge is nolle prosequi (not prosecuted).
Middlesex Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey W. Shaw accepted the plea agreement and ordered a pre-sentencing report. Sentencing has been set for May 18.
According to court records, the offense occurred on April 30, 2020. Smith was indicted by a Middlesex Grand Jury on March 23, 2021. Smith was granted bail on April 21, 2021, and he remains free following his guilty plea.
His employment was terminated, court records indicate.
The case was investigated by agents of the Virginia State Police who used DNA…
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