State prosecutors push hard to force a defendant, in a two-decade’s old sexual assault of a child case, either to plead guilty or go to trial. Amber Hahn says the victim suffered a violent rape, at the hands of the defendant, when she was 13-years-old. Hahn says the victim waited 18-years for the criminal justice system to test the evidence. Hahn argued against the now 41-year-old Jason A. Smith’s motion to enter a seldom used plea allowing the court to find him guilty, while he maintained his innocence. Smith is already serving 50-years in prison on previous sexual assault convictions. The most recent charge is connected to a case dating back to July of 2000. The trial is set to begin Monday.
