Gold Hill man jailed on sex charges

Published 12:00 am Friday, April 22, 2011

GOLD?HILL – A Gold Hill man is in the Rowan County Detention Center under a $1,000,000 secured bond, charged with 28 sex offenses.
Galen Lee Smith, 40, of 1175 St. Peters Church Road, has been charged with seven counts of indecent liberties with children, seven counts of first-degree sex offense with children under 13, seven counts of first-degree rape of a child, distributing or transporting a material of a minor engaged in sex and other offenses.
According to the arrest warrant, the incidents took place between 1997 and 2005, with two female victims. One of the charges involves Smith making at least one of the victims watch pornography on a computer.
Rowan County Sheriff’s Detective Clint Mauldin was the investigator in the case. Smith was charged last night.
Smith will make his first appearance in court April 25.