Chad Alan Smith appeared in front of Superior Court Judge Dale Reinholtsen at a hearing Thursday morning to set a date for a jury trial after his original trial ended in a mistrial Feb. 6.
Smith faces 12 felony counts related to the sexual abuse of a child younger than 10, lewd and lascivious acts on a child younger than 14 and the performance of lewd acts when the defendant is 10 years older than the child.
Smith, who is now represented by private attorney Christina Allbright, will face a jury trial April 2, with a confirmation hearing scheduled for March 22. Reinholtsen declared a mistrial when a new witness was discovered during additional investigation after the trial had started.
“Criminal investigations do not stop when charges are filed,” District Attorney Maggie Fleming said at the time. “Sometimes the prosecutor or the defense learns of additional witnesses and provides that information to the other side after the trial has started.”
That new witness led to a conflict with the Humboldt County Public Defender’s Office and resulted in the declaration of a mistrial.
He was present in court wearing a jail-issued orange jumpsuit Thursday morning.
Smith has been in custody since June 2017 and remains in custody with bail set at $2.65 million. In addition to the 12 felony counts Smith also faces 24 special allegations of committing a serious sex offense, having multiple victims and having victims under the age of 14.
Dan Squier can be reached at 707-441-0528.
