Rape charge reduced in case involving teen

A jury trial for a 20-year-old who was on probation for a felony sex conviction when he allegedly raped a Coeur d’Alene teenager at his grandparents’ home was vacated Monday after a plea agreement was reached.

Devon J. Smith will be sentenced Friday in Coeur d’Alene for a reduced charge of injury to a child, also a felony.

Smith initially pleaded guilty to attempted sexual abuse of a minor, then asked to withdraw the guilty plea. The amended charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Smith was on probation after being convicted for having non-consensual sex with a 13-year-old in a 2017 case when he text messaged the victim in the latest case and asked to meet her at the Bank of America on U.S. 95 and Appleway on a March evening, according to court records.

The couple walked to Smith’s grandparents’ house at Viola Lane to watch movies, where he allegedly raped her in a back bedroom while a television in the house was turned up loudly to mask any sounds of resistance, records state.

The girl contacted a friend immediately after the incident and checked in at Kootenai Health, where a rape kit was used to collect evidence and police were notified, police reports state.

Had the case gone to trial, prosecutors said it would have been charged as a rape case, but because of a gap in the sex offense statute, a reduced felony charge was accepted in exchange for Smith’s guilty plea.

Smith, who wore jeans with a bull rider belt buckle, boots and Western hat at the time of the incident, according to the victim, told the court he had comprehension issues and an 11th grade education.

The plea calls for a sentence of two years fixed and eight years indeterminate. Smith told First District Judge Richard Christensen that he understood the consequences of a guilty plea. He said he pleaded guilty to take advantage of a favorable offer.