Photo: David Smock
CEDAR COUNTY, Mo. — Eight felony charges have been filed against a doctor wanted for sex crimes in Missouri and taken into custody Tuesday night in Harrison.
The Vernon County, Missouri, prosecuting attorney, acting as a special prosecutor for Cedar County, and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced the filing of the charges Wednesday against 57-year-old Dr. David Smock. Smock had been on the run from law enforcement for several days.
The Harrison Daily Times reports the Missouri doctor tested COVID positive in the Boone County jail.
Smock has been the longtime physician for Agape Boarding School, a Christian school that remains under scrutiny after five staffers were charged in September with assaulting students.
Five other employees of the school were charged in September with a total of 13 third-degree felony assault counts.
“Protecting the citizens of our state, especially our children, is of paramount importance to me as Missouri’s attorney general,” says Attorney General Schmitt. “The details of the alleged crimes in this case are shocking and horrific, and I look forward to working with the special prosecutor for Cedar County to obtain justice in this case.”
According to the felony complaint, the defendant Smock has been charged with one count of sexual misconduct involving a child, four counts of first-degree statutory sodomy, one count of second-degree attempted statutory sodomy, one count of fourth-degree child molestation and one count of felony stalking.
Smock is in the process of being extradited to Missouri.
The Department of Social Services’ State Technical Assistance Team led the investigation and apprehension of Smock.
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