(New Haven, CT) - John P. Doyle Jr., State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of New Haven, today announced that the Honorable Gerald L. Harmon on December 5, 2024, sentenced Christopher Smith, age 45, of Middletown, to five years in prison, execution suspended after 16 months served, followed by 10 years of sexual offender probation, for attempting to meet a minor to engage in sexual activity at a Meriden park in 2023.
On October 2, 2024, the defendant pleaded guilty in Superior Court in New Haven to one count of Criminal Attempt to Commit Enticing a Minor by Computer, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-90a(a). The defendant initiated sexually explicit text message conversations for several weeks in an attempt to set up the meeting with who the defendant thought was a teen but was actually an undercover officer working as part of an operation conducted by the Meriden Police Department and the FBI. The undercover officer engaged in conversation with Smith on an online chat application, posing as a 15-year-old. On the day of the meeting at the Meriden park, police arrested Smith and took him into custody after he arrived at the park.
Smith has been held on bond since his arrest in November 2023. He will be required to register with the state Sexual Offender Registry upon his release from prison.
The case was investigated by the Meriden Police Department and the FBI, and was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah E. Jones.
“This office, with our local, state and federal partners, will continue to prosecute and hold accountable those who commit and attempt to commit horrific acts against the most vulnerable members of our society, especially our children,” State’s Attorney Doyle said.
“The FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Forces throughout the country are designed to identify, investigate, and present for prosecution those individuals like Mr. Smith who attempt to prey on our nation’s children,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Fuller. “In addition, I would like to thank the Meriden Police Department and the New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office for their collaboration on this matter.”