More than a year has passed since former Jacksonville Jaguars player Telvin Smith was arrested, accused of allegedly having sex with a teen.
Smith appeared in court for the first time on Friday where he pleaded no contest to child abuse charges, a third-degree felony. He was initially arrested in April 2020 on a charge of unlawful sexual activity with a minor.
He was sentenced to three years’ probation and one day in the Duval County jail, for which he has already served.
In addition, the judge ordered Smith to pay $516 in court costs and sexual counseling. The player is not allowed to contact his victim, nor will he be allowed to have contact with any female under the age of 18 who are not members of his family.
According to court documents, Smith had sex with a teenager on multiple occasions in 2019, for which he offered her money.
The former player was arrested in April 2020, for which he has been out on $50,000 bail since.
Action News Jax first told you in November 2019 when investigators turned Smith’s Queen’s Harbour home into a crime scene. At that time, a black SUV was loaded onto a flatbed and towed from the home.
The victim told police she met Smith several months earlier at her place of employment and took several pictures together. During this meeting, the victim told Smith her age, which was redacted from the court documents. The affidavit stated police spoke to a co-worker of the victim, who confirmed that the victim made it clear to Smith she was under the age of 18.
In May of 2019, Smith announced that he would not be playing football during the 2019 season. Following Smith’s announcement, the Jaguars released a statement of their own:
“Telvin is currently on our reserve/retired list, so you’ll need to reach out to his representatives for comments on Telvin’s personal life.”
Smiths’ arraignment was rescheduled over two dozen times prior to his appearance Friday.
Cox Media Group
