EAGLE, Colorado — A man who had sex with a 13-year-old girl in 2006 and who later threatened her with a knife will go to prison for three years, said Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert.

District Court Judge R. Thomas Moorhead sentenced Jeremy Ray Smith, 20, of Eagle, to three years in prison Wednesday. Smith will serve two years of parole after he gets out of prison and will have to register permanently as a sex offender, Hurlbert said.

In a separate case, a jury convicted Smith of unlawful sexual contact in June for looking under a bar bathroom stall at a woman’s private parts Aug. 28. He is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday.

“He is obviously a pretty bad guy, so we’re happy he’s going to prison,” Hurlbert said.



The 13-year-old girl in the first case said Smith coerced her into having sex, but he did not threaten her or use physical force, Hurlbert said. However, the circumstances don’t matter because a 13-year-old cannot consent to having sex, according to law, Hurlbert said.

Smith threatened the girl last year — when she was 14 — with a knife at the Eagle County Fairgrounds, Hurlbert said. She was not injured, Hurlbert said.

Smith had pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child in a position of trust and menacing with a weapon and was sentenced on both felony charges.



Staff Writer Steve Lynn can be reached at 970-748-2931 or slynn@vaildaily.com.