Nanny molested boys in his care for over a year, TX officials say. He’s going to prison

A 32-year-old Texas man accused of repeatedly molesting two young boys while he worked as their nanny has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Lee Smith III pleaded guilty in a Harris County courtroom to sexual abuse of a child, the District Attorney’s office announced in a Dec. 1 statement.

A single mother living in Houston hired Smith — who sometimes went by the name Justin — to look after her sons, the statement said. The boys were both around 9 years old.

For more than a year, Smith molested the brothers, the statement said. It wasn’t until he stopped working for the family that the boys told their mother about what he had been doing to them, and she contacted authorities.

Smith was charged in 2019 following an investigation by the Houston Police Department.

He will be in his 60s by the time he gets out of prison, officials said.

“The law against the continuous sexual abuse of a child in Texas ensures this predator will spend every single day of his 30-year-sentence in prison,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. “He will never be eligible for parole.”

This story was originally published December 2, 2021 at 12:30 PM with the headline "Nanny molested boys in his care for over a year, TX officials say. He’s going to prison."