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	Putnam Pastor Pleads Guilty to Sex Assault By Veronica Nett The Charleston Gazette September 17, 2008 http://wvgazette.com/News/200809170789 WINFIELD - A former Putnam County pastor accused of videotaping himself sexually abusing three relatives and his stepdaughter pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault Wednesday. Paul D. Smeltzer, 40, of Scott Depot, pleaded guilty to videotaping himself sexually abusing his 7-year-old niece in January 2007. He also pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting his stepdaughter in May 2004. She was 12 at the time of the abuse. As part of the agreement with county prosecutors, Smeltzer pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault in the first degree and two counts of sexual assault in the third degree. He will serve no less than 17 years and no more than 45 years. Smeltzer will face up to $30,000 in fines. He also will pay for all or a portion of the costs for any psychological treatment the victims may seek. He also will lose custody rights to all dependents in his household. Putnam County Circuit Court Judge O.C. Spaulding accepted the plea agreement Wednesday, and set Smeltzer's sentencing hearing for 9 a.m. Dec. 1. Smeltzer worked as a part-time pastor at the First Christian Church of St. Albans Disciples of Christ. He joined the parish in December 2006. Putnam County police have said he was also involved with church activities in Kanawha and Putnam counties. In the past year, Smeltzer was arrested twice on charges that he sexually abused female relatives - first in May 2007, and again in March. In March, a Putnam grand jury indicted him on charges related to those allegations, but prosecutors dismissed the indictment after police discovered new evidence showing more girls might have been victimized. He was indicted again in July on eight counts of sexual assault and sexual abuse by a parent, guardian or custodian. The July indictment charged he videotaped himself sexually abusing three of his nieces who were staying at his house on McCloud Road in Scott Depot. He was also accused of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter on a separate occasion. Following his second arrest in March, the Putnam County Sheriff's Department seized computer equipment from Smeltzer's home. A team from the FBI analyzed the computer. "Found on the computer was homemade video showing three young girls sleeping in a bed," the complaint stated. "The video also shows a man's hand and arm pulling away the covers, pulling the girls' underwear to the side, and [sexually abusing them]." The girls had come to his house to see his daughter and had spent the night, Smeltzer said Wednesday. In the early morning hours in January 2007, he went into the basement where they were sleeping and videotaped himself assaulting one of the girls, he said. Smeltzer and his family moved to West Virginia, his wife's home state, in 2003, according to an article published in the Gazette when he became pastor at the church in St. Albans. He also played guitar for two years at Foundations Community Church, according to the article. He and his wife divorced in April 2008. Prior to moving to West Virginia, Smeltzer worked at churches in California and served as a leader for the student ministry at Community Bible Church in Mira Mesa, Calif. In 2002, he graduated from the Southern California Bible College and Seminary in El Cajon. He then was a director of children's ministry at Calvary Chapel Mira Mesa. Reach Veronica Nett at veroni...@wvgazette.com or 348-5113.
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