By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – A prison cell will most likely be the final home for an elderly Pima man who pleaded guilty to child sexual exploitation charges.
Virgil Leroy Smith, 85, was sentenced Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024, by Graham County Superior Court Judge Pro Tem Travis L. Ragland to 5 years in prison to be followed by lifetime sexual offender probation upon his unlikely release.
Smith pleaded guilty to five amended counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and was given a 5-year sentence on the first count – the maximum allowable under his plea agreement. Due to his advanced age, it is unlikely he will survive the sentence, but if he does, he will be placed on lifetime sexual offender probation upon his release on his remaining four counts.
Graham County Attorney L. Scott Bennett prosecuted the case for the state, and Smith was represented by attorney Ralph Ellinwood. Bennett told the Gila Herald that even though the defendant is an octogenarian, he believed prison was a necessary repercussion for Smith’s crimes.
“Despite tremendous pressure for leniency based on the defendant’s advanced age, I felt strongly that this crime should include a sentence to the Department of Corrections,” said Graham County Attorney L. Scott Bennett. “I applaud the court in following the state’s strong recommendation and sentencing the defendant to the maximum DOC sentence allowed under the agreement.”
Smith was arrested on June 10 by officers with the Pima Police Department and special agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
The case against Smith began in November 2021, when the Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) group with HSI Douglas, Arizona, received an Internet Crimes Against Child (ICAC) tip concerning an IP address in southeastern Arizona that was actively downloading files containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Through investigative techniques, special agents determined that the IP address was assigned to Smith’s residence in Pima.
In March 2022, HSI executed a residential search warrant and removed computers and other electronic devices from Smith’s residence for forensic examination. The analysis of the devices determined that he was actively downloading and storing files containing CSAM.
On June 10, HSI Douglas, with the assistance of the Graham County Sheriff’s Office and the Pima Police Department, arrested Smith in Pima, and he was subsequently charged with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
