Missouri doctor faces more child sex crime charges, including a second alleged victim
David Smock, the longtime Agape Boarding School doctor in southwest Missouri, has been charged with four new child sex crimes, two of which involve an alleged second male victim.
The four charges were filed Tuesday in Cedar County, according to an online court docket. Those new counts are in addition to the eight sex crimes filed in Cedar County against the Stockton doctor by the state Attorney General’s office in December. He also faces three similar charges in Greene County.
All 15 counts against Smock are felonies.
Smock, 57, was arrested in Arkansas in late December and has been held in the Greene County Jail since Jan. 5. The bond in that county is $250,000 but no bond is set on the Cedar County charges. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
The new court documents show that two of the additional counts involve the victim outlined in the first eight Cedar County charges filed in December. One of those new counts accuses Smock of first-degree statutory sodomy for alleging touching the penis of the child who at the time was younger than 14. The complaint says that the incident occurred between June 1 and Aug. 1 of 2019.
The other new count accuses Smock of coercing that same boy to expose his genitals “for the purpose of arousing the sexual desire of the defendant.”
The remaining two new charges involve a second alleged victim. One count of felony enticement of a child accuses the doctor of having a boy younger than 15 observe another juvenile who was naked while Smock allegedly touched that boy’s penis. According to court records, that incident also happened between June 1 and Aug. 1 of 2019.
The other additional charge filed Tuesday accuses Smock of first-degree statutory sodomy between May 1 and July 31 of 2019, touching the penis and scrotum of the second alleged victim with his hand when the boy was younger than 15.
Chris Nuelle, a spokesman with the office of Attorney General Eric Schmitt, said he could not comment on the pending case. The probable cause statements for all Cedar County charges against Smock are sealed.
Smock was charged in December in Cedar County with four counts of statutory sodomy or attempted sodomy — deviate sexual intercourse — involving a child younger than 14 and one count of second-degree statutory sodomy or attempted sodomy. He also was charged with one count each of sexual misconduct involving a child younger than 15, fourth-degree molestation of a child younger than 17 and first-degree stalking.
During that same time frame, Smock was charged in nearby Greene County with second-degree statutory sodomy; third-degree child molestation of a child younger than 14 years of age; and enticement or attempted enticement of a child younger than 15 years of age, according to court records. He has pleaded not guilty to those three charges.
The Star has reported extensively on Agape and other unlicensed Missouri boarding schools over the past 18 months and investigated Smock’s close ties to the school. In October, The Star reported that two of five Agape staff members charged in September with assaulting students listed Smock’s Cedar County mansion as their address.
Many former Agape students said some boys injured by staff or other schoolmates during physical and sexual assaults would be taken to Smock’s clinic, where Agape officials said they had been hurt while playing sports. No questions were asked, they said.
As a doctor, Smock is required by law to report suspicions of abuse or neglect.
Early last month, officials at Agape Boarding School released a statement to The Star saying that news of Smock’s arrest “saddens us deeply.” But officials also attempted to distance the school from the doctor and said he was never an employee or board member of Agape.
A key Agape staff member, however, described Smock’s close relationship to the school in a March/April 2020 newsletter. That staffer, who is Agape’s medical coordinator, said the school is “medically overseen by Dr. David Smock, M.D.”
Agape officials also said in their statement that the school has “always had a zero tolerance for any type of child abuse in our ministry.”
“We believe that transparency, child safety, and accountability are essential for successful ministry,” the statement said. “And Agape continues to be fully committed to assisting in the investigation in whatever way possible to ensure justice occurs for the victims and all involved.”
Last month, someone posted a message on the Facebook page for Smock’s Stockton Lake Walk-in Clinic, not far from Agape:
“Due to unforeseen circumstances, as of 1/6/22 until further notice, our clinic will be closed.”
This story was originally published February 23, 2022 at 1:25 PM.
