Darby Township commissioner sentenced to probation in Philadelphia sexual assault case

A Darby Township commissioner was sentenced to a year of probation after entering a no-contest plea to sexually assaulting a teenage boy in Philadelphia.

Marvin Smith, 52, entered the plea to corruption of a minor on Sept. 13 as part of a negotiation with prosecutors, who, in exchange, declined to pursue the more serious criminal charges he faced, including rape and involuntary deviant sexual intercourse. (By pleading no contest, Smith did not admit guilt, but did not dispute the facts of the case, as presented by prosecutors.)

In addition to his probation, Smith was ordered by Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Charles Ehrlich to stay away from the victim and have no unsupervised contact with minors, court records show.

» READ MORE: Darby Township Commissioner Marvin Smith arrested in Philadelphia on rape charges

Smith’s attorney, Clinton Johnson, said the plea deal came after prosecutors recognized inconsistencies with evidence in the case. The victim, Johnson said, was not where he said the assault occurred at the time he said it occurred.

“My client’s position at the beginning, during this whole process and even now, is that he didn’t commit any crimes,” Johnson said. “And that’s why he didn’t enter into a guilty plea.”

Jane Roh, a spokesperson for Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, did not return a request for comment about the case.

The 14-year-old victim told police in 2019 that he had been sexually assaulted by Smith in August 2017, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed for Smith’s arrest.

Smith approached the teen in West Philadelphia and offered him a ride home, saying he was a family friend, the affidavit said. He then drove the victim to a nearby park, exposed himself, then sexually assaulted the teen. Smith dropped the victim off at an unknown location and drove away, according to investigators.

At the time of his arrest, Smith was already the subject of controversy in the township after posting an inflammatory meme on his personal Facebook page the year before. Smith shared what appeared to be a staged photo depicting two Black men pointing guns at a white police officer’s head, framed by the caption: “Does it Have to come to This to make them Stop Murdering and Terrorizing Us?”

The picture drew immediate and sharp rebuke from the Delaware County Council and District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer. It also brought heavy criticism from local police unions, including the Fraternal Order of Police, who said Smith was unfit to serve the community.

As a result of that fallout, Smith was stripped of his police-oversight duties on the council. However, township officials said they lacked the authority to remove him from the board.

In an interview Tuesday, Darby Township Solicitor Michael Pierce said that now that Smith has pleaded and been sentenced, he has sought guidance from Stollsteimer’s office about initiating a legal effort to strip Smith of his position.

“The way the law is written, an elected official can be removed if he or she is convicted of an infamous crime,” Pierce said. “We believe this falls into the category of him being unfit to serve in office.”

Smith lost the primary election in May, and therefore is not on the ballot for reelection in November.