It was one of seven for abusive sexual contact and stemmed from accusations by a woman who alleged that Smith locked her in her cell and forced her to show him her breasts. Although her first name was used in court, KQED does not identify survivors of sexual assault.
The woman played a key role for prosecutors in corroborating the story of another victim, who said Smith had isolated her and forced himself on her multiple times, but the defense also used her to drum up speculation about the validity of all of the accusations against Smith.
In their closing argument, Smith’s defense attorneys acknowledged that sexual abuse was an issue at FCI Dublin, which was shuttered last year following a sprawling FBI investigation that led to seven former officials’ convictions, but they said he was the victim of a scam. Attorneys said that the five women tried to use fabricated stories of abuse by Smith to earn early release and other benefits, like legal immigration status and settlement payouts.
“[The woman] was a driving force in this group of inmates,” defense attorney Naomi Chung said during her closing argument at trial. “[Two of the other victims] both consulted with [her] before reporting.”
