A Year after Acquittal, Morgan County Pastor Again Charged with Rape

Lake News
October 17, 2012

http://www.lakenewsonline.com/article/20121017/NEWS/121018883/-1/opinion

Travis Smith

Stover -- A year after being acquitted of child molestation, the pastor of a small Baptist church in Stover is back in court.
Travis Smith, 42, was arraigned in Moniteau County this week on charges of rape, sexual abuse and sodomy. The charges stem from allegations relating to incidents that allegedly took place in 1998, 1999 and 2005. The allegations involve two different victims.
Smith is currently free on $70,000 bond. He is scheduled to return to court in November.
In Sept. 2011, Smith was acquitted of child molestation by a Miller County jury. He has been accused of inappropriately touching a 14-year-old girl while on an outing. The case was filed in Morgan County but later moved on a change of venue. The jury deliberated for less than two hours before acquitting Smith.
Smith faces a total of six charges. He is charged with three counts of statutory rape, one count of forcible rape, one count of sexual abuse and 1 count of statutory sodomy. Smith is the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Stover. During Smith's legal issues during the trial on the child molestation charge, the church stood behind the pastor.