Child sexual abuse and rape conviction overturned by Utah Supreme Court

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A West Jordan man’s 2024 conviction of 25 sex-related crimes dating back decades has been overturned by the Utah Supreme Court.

On Feb. 14, 2024, Jamison Smith, 50, was found guilty of 25 sex-related crimes, including one count of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and five counts of felony rape, among others.

Decades-old allegations

Charges claim that beginning in 2008, Smith regularly abused an underage female relative. During the case, it was revealed that there may have been other victims of abuse dating back to 1988.

“There wasn’t even a specific crime for sexual abuse of a child in the 80s,” Clayton Simms, a local defense attorney unrelated to the case, told ABC4.com

Later on, charges were filed against Smith, leading to a conviction in 2024.

After the conviction, Smith appealed the decision, claiming that the court made an error by leaving an issue involving the statute of limitations up to the jury rather than the judge.

Statute of limitations

“There was a different statute of limitations back in the day,” Simms said, adding that the case required a decision be made on whether or not the charges were time sensitive to be prosecuted.

Since 2008, the State of Utah has had no statute of limitations on sex-related crimes, meaning such crimes could be prosecuted indefinitely regardless of how long ago the crimes were committed.

Smith argued that at the time of the offense, the statute of limitations was in place.

“They are arguing that once a minor informs law enforcement, prosecution must begin within one year,” Simms said. “The statute of limitations was triggered.”

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“”It’s based on what statute of limitations was in effect at the time of the crime,” Simms added, “The argument that was presented to the court is that is that it’s a year from when it was disclosed to law enforcement.”

Records show one victim may have reported the abuse after being taken out of class in seventh grade. Smith argues this qualifies as a report to law enforcement, meaning the deadline to press charges against him ended in 1989. Records show charges were filed in 2022.

The Supreme Court says that the burden of determining this issue of a statute of limitations falls on the judge presiding over the case. However, during the trial, the determination was left up to the jury.

“We reverse and remand for the district court to complete that determination,” the Supreme Court order reads, requiring the judge to decide whether or not the statute of limitations was met.

Simms says the ruling will require a retrial in district court. Smith is expected to remain in prison on multiple sex-crime related convictions for different cases.

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Notably, Simms added that the retrial may cause some difficulties, because it has been so long since the crime occurred.

“It is difficult for the defendant to defend himself, because the alibi witness might be lost, witnesses’ memories may have faded,” Simms said, “In fact, you may not remember where you were in 1980, 1988, on a specific day.”

On the other hand, it may be difficult to connect Smith or other defendants to a decades-long crime, because the victim or prosecution witnesses that were available during the original trial may not be available for the retrial.

This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post as more information becomes available.

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