A federal grand jury in Muskogee, Oklahoma, returned a three-count indictment, unsealed Friday, charging former Savanna Police Department (SPD) police officer Jeffery Scott Smith Jr. with a federal civil rights violation for allegedly sexually assaulting a victim while acting under color of law and obstructing justice, officials stated.
According to the indictment, on Nov. 2, 2022, in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, Jeffery Scott Smith Jr., 35, while on duty as an SPD police officer, conducted a traffic stop on a car in which the victim was a passenger.
Count one of the indictment charges Smith with depriving the victim of her right to bodily integrity when he sexually assaulted the victim during the traffic stop.
The defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
That indictment alleges that Smith’s conduct resulted in bodily injury to the victim and included the commission of a non-consensual sexual act with the victim.
Counts two and three of the indictment charged Smith with knowingly altering, concealing, covering up, and falsifying an SPD record by deactivating his SPD body-worn and SPD dashboard cameras during the traffic stop, officials stated.
He allegedly intended to impede, obstruct, and influence an investigation into his sexual misconduct.
If convicted of the charges, Smith faces up to 60 years in prison
The FBI Oklahoma City Field Office is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Laura Gilson of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Compton for the Eastern District of Oklahoma are prosecuting the case.