DA seeks resentencing Smith to 400 years on child pornography charges

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — The Mississippi Appellate Court vacated two charges of sexual battery and two life sentences for Vicksburg native Carl DeAnthony Smith due to lack of evidence earlier this week. Smith currently remains in prison on 10 counts of possession of child pornography. The courts also ordered that he be resentenced on those charges.

”I’m going to ask that the judge run his next sentencing consecutively instead of concurrent which means he would have 400 years instead of 40,” Assistant DA Branan Southerland said. “I’m not satisfied with him doing 40 years, I want to make sure he dies in prison.”

Back in January 2024, Judge Toni Terrett sentenced Smith to two life sentences for sexual battery and 40 years on each of the 10 counts of possession of child pornography, all to run concurrently.

The court’s decision to overturn Smith’s two sexual battery charges were due to Mississippi’s corpus delicti rule which requires the prosecution to present evidence proving that a crime actually occurred, independent of the defendant’s confession or admission.

As reported yesterday by the Vicksburg Daily News, on appeal, Smith challenged the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the sexual battery charges, arguing that no independent proof of penetration was presented, as required by Mississippi law. The appellate court agreed, noting that while Smith admitted to “sex” with the child, he never specified penetration, and no physical or testimonial evidence corroborated the claim.

“Even viewing the trial evidence in a light most favorable to the State,” the court ruled, “there was insufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find that the State proved the elements of sexual battery beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Southerland said he disagrees with the court, but respects their decision.

“Do I like that? No. Do I think it’s right? No. But I respect the court’s decision,” Southerland said.

During the two-day trial, in December 2023, the state provided evidence that Smith sexually abused a teenage boy and confessed to having sex with that child at least twice when he was 10 years old. 250-500 pictures and videos of other children, including infants, were found on Smith’s phone.

The state was represented by Southerland and was assisted by Assistant District Attorney Liem Walker.

Also during the trial, Southerland played some of the video evidence, which was so explicit that only small clips were shown to prove to the jury that Smith not only molested the 10-year-old victim, but also had plenty of sexual videos of children, including infants. While being questioned by Deputy Police Chief Troy Kimble, Smith testified that his phone was hacked, but evidence showed that he had placed certain images and videos in a separate folder in his phone. 

It took a jury 14 minutes to convict Smith, and Judge Terrett ordered him to spend the rest of his life in prison at his sentencing hearing two weeks later.

“To the family of the victim, you didn’t deserve this, especially knowing that he fell victim to the hands of a predator,” Terrett said at the initial sentencing.

“He’s a disgusting sicko who deserves to die in prison,” Southerland said.