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Former Scout leader sentenced

A former district executive with the Boy Scouts will spend at least 6 to 12 years in state prison for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old Derry boy.

James A. Kimble Union Leader Correspondent BRENTWOOD A former district executive with the Boy Scouts will spend at least six to 12 years in state prison for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old Derry boy seeking help with his Eagle Scout project. David Smith, 62, of Londonderry was sentenced on Monday morning in Rockingham County Superior Court after being convicted by a jury in March on 10 charges, including five counts of felonious sexual assault.

David Smith receives his sentence in court.

The boy had met Smith during a Scout jamboree and asked for his help on an Eagle Scout project. He was just here to help. That was basically his mantra, Assistant County Attorney Karen Springer said of Smith. Then he met this 16-year-old boy who wanted to be the youngest in state to get an Eagle Scout badge. But the boy didnt know how to get his project started. He came from a single-family home. This was a situation where (Smith) took complete advantage, where a young boy was looking for help. Smith called the boy in the fall of 2007 and took a Viagra pill before meeting with the boy alone at his home in Derry, according to Springer. When (the boy) started to talk about project, he could tell (Smith) wasnt paying attention, Springer said. Because the defendant was focused on what he was there to do. Smith could be seen shaking his head several times in court while the prosecution outlined its case, arguing that the Scout leader and former Saugus, Mass., selectman led a double life. Derry police Det. Kennedy Richard was given access to Smiths work computer after he had left his job with the Boy Scouts. A forensic exam showed that the computer was used to look at websites that included titles such as gay men cruising and we love guys, Springer said. He also went on

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Craigslist on two occasions in the M4M section, which stands for men looking for men. In Smiths old work desk, police also found a folder labeled David and Private, which contained a list of screen names and physical descriptions of men, some lurid, according to Springer. Judge John Lewis said he found Smiths conduct abhorrent, especially because he was in a position of trust with the boy. I have been judge now for many, many years, Lewis said. Unfortunately I see a lot of duplicity, a lot of cover-ups, and I see a lot of people who are not what they appear to be. Smith, who maintains his innocence, stood up in court and said, I am sorry for what has transpired. I am sorry for (the victims) mother. I am sorry for (the victim), Smith said. I am not predator. I understand what the jury has brought forward and at that this particular point I would like to apologize to my family and friends and my wife who has supported me this entire time. Defense lawyer Donald Kennedy asked Lewis to show some leniency by sending Smith to county jail instead of state prison. He said Smith had a large contingent of support through his family, which included roughly 40 family members and friends who came to court Monday. He has lived an admirable life. This is his first bump in the road, Kennedy said. I think the law has to punish, but the law has to have compassion. The boys mother took issue with Kennedys description of her son, saying her son still refuses to speak to her in detail about the assault. She said she raised her son to push forward even when things in life became tough. Where it was just (him) and myself, we never had time to wallow in self pity or the problems in our lives, she said. She also recounted how her son insisted on finishing the Eagle Scout project, and how many people involved in the Scouts have been supportive since he joined at age 8. Troop 98 in Derry helped him complete the Eagle Scout project, she said. The victim, now 19, did not attend the sentencing hearing. He is in his first year of college and recently started a support group there for other teens who were victims of sexual abuse, the boys mother said in court.

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