Overview
- Carissa Jane Smith was sentenced on Nov. 19 to 10 years in prison after a Sept. 17 plea to two counts of sexual contact with a student and one count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
- Local reports say the sentence is structured as six years for endangering the welfare of a child and two years each for the sexual contact counts.
- Smith was arrested in November 2024 and initially indicted on 19 felonies, including sex trafficking of a child, statutory rape and statutory sodomy.
- Investigators say she paid students in cash or via Cash App and provided marijuana and alcohol in exchange for sex or to perform oral sex, with encounters at her home, in a car and on rural roads.
- Court records describe efforts to stifle the probe, including a smashed phone allegedly used to destroy a video and threats by her husband; she was re-arrested in September 2025 for alleged witness tampering, and her $250,000 bond was revoked.