A 90-year-old man and his 66-year-old son were arrested after a renovation of their former home in California led to the discovery of old Polaroid photos depicting child abuse and sexual exploitation.
Theodore Smith, 90, and James Smith, 66, were promptly arrested and charged with committing forcible lewd acts upon a child. Theodore, who had 11 counts, was sentenced to 100 years in prison, while his son was sentenced to 23 years to life.
Both Theodore and James pleaded no contest to the charges, the Sacramento County District Attorney's office said in a statement on Tuesday.
Discovering the Polaroids
The pair lived in a home in Orangeville, California, for over 40 years. They moved out in 2020 to relocate to Texas.
In 2021, the new homeowner was renovating an outbuilding when video tapes and hundreds of Polaroid images featuring children believed to be under the age of 14 poured out of the building's walls. The images, which authorities said were taken from 1985 to 1995, showed the children being sexually abused by adults.
What Happened to the Victims?
Authorities were able to identify the children in the images. The victims, who were now adults, only told their spouses about the abuse. It was noted that the abuse began when the victims were under the age of five and continued for the majority of the first 10 years of their life.
The investigators never publicly disclosed how many children were featured in the images. It was also not immediately clear how Theodore and James knew their victims.
The Attorney General's office added that some materials showed proof of molestation. However, the statute of limitations prohibited charges related to any abuse that occurred before 1988. All charges filed against the pair were for molestation and abuse that happened after 1988.
Authorities noted that apart from the child abuse incidents discovered during the renovation, James had also been involved in the molestation of another individual after 2010. They did not release additional information about his victim in that case.
Theodore was arrested in their home in Texas. James was arrested while he was en route back to California with child sexual abuse materials in his possession.
