TEXARKANA, Texas - A 24-year-old man already required to register as a sex offender is facing a new charge of sexual indecency involving a 14-year-old girl.
Devonta Vashun Smith was arrested in July after he was allegedly found at the Texarkana Public Library in the company of a 14-year-old girl who had been reported as a runaway, according to a probable cause affidavit. Smith allegedly provided a Texarkana, Texas, address which differed from the one on file with the sex offender registry and was asked to come to the Bi-State Justice Building to update his registration.
Smith allegedly denied any inappropriate contact with the girl when first questioned but admitted to misconduct later in an interview with investigators.
"With every new explanation, he would hang his head, have a solemn appearance, and state, 'I'm going to tell you the truth,'" the affidavit states.
Smith allegedly told investigators he and the girl had stayed together at an abandoned house and that while there, inappropriate contact between them occurred.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety sex offender database, Smith is required to register as a sex offender because of a charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child involving a 15-year-old boy. The DPS site shows that Smith was adjudicated in 2011, when he would have been approximately 16, and that he spent more than two years under the supervision of juvenile authorities.
The DPS site states that Smith's requirement to register as a sex offender in his juvenile case expires in 2024.
Smith is currently being held in the Bowie County jail. Bail is set at $100,000.