Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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September 1, 2010

Man accused of trying to sell parental rights enters guilty plea

By GREG JORDAN Bluefield Daily Telegraph

PRINCETON – A man facing a charge of trying to sell the parental rights to his own son pleaded guilty Tuesday in Mercer County Circuit Court to a misdemeanor charge of obtaining money under false pretenses.

Harry Lee Smith, 32, of the Bluewell area appeared for a plea hearing before Judge William Sadler. Sadler questioned Smith about whether he understood that he was giving up his right to a jury trial if he pleaded guilty.

“It is more than an admission of guilt, it is a conviction,” Sadler informed Smith. “The only thing left is the sentencing.”

Smith then pleaded guilty to a charge of obtaining money by false pretenses, a misdemeanor offense. He faces up to a year of confinement at the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver. A presentencing investigation will be conducted by the Mercer County Probation Department before sentencing, now scheduled for Oct. 25.

According to an arrest report filed by Trooper J.A. Cook of the West Virginia State Police detachment in Princeton, the case started in November 2008 when Smith offered to sell his parental rights to the mother of the woman who has custody of his son under court order. Smith had only supervised visitation rights.

In return for surrendering his parental rights, Smith wanted $50,000, Cook said in his report.

However, the Princeton area woman reported this proposal to her attorney and Sgt. M.D. Clemons of the West Virginia State Police in Princeton. On Jan. 23, 2009, the Princeton woman gave Smith a check for $50,000 at a Princeton motel, Cook said. Cook then stopped Smith during a road stop. When told to get out of his vehicle, Smith said he had planned to report the offense.

“The accused complied and began to say that he was going to the bank and cash the check and then report it to the State Police office to report this crime,” Cook said in his report.

Smith remains free on bond pending his sentencing.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

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