Convicted deputy coroner must register as predator

Former deputy coroner Edward C. Smith, who worked in Carbon and Schuylkill counties until he was charged with having sexual contact with teenage boys, was on Friday classified a sexually violent predator by a Schuylkill County judge.

Smith, 61, did not visibly react when Judge James P. Goodman ruled.

The classification means Smith, considered a tier 3 predator, is required to register for life with the Pennsylvania State Police once he’s released from prison.

He is required to attend monthly sex offender counseling sessions for the rest of the his life.

Local police will notify neighbors, county children and youth agencies, local day care centers, school districts and institutions of higher education of Smith’s name, residential address and offense, and also provide his photograph.

Smith has already been classified a sexually violent predator in Luzerne County.

He was represented Friday by Adam Weaver. Deputy Attorney General Angela L. Raver was the prosecutor.

Smith, of Tamaqua, pleaded guilty in Schuylkill County court in August to two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and one of corruption of minors.

He admitted to having sexual contact with a teenage boy over a yearlong period ending in 2017. The victim was 14 and 15 during that time.

Goodman sentenced him to eight to 16 years in state prison. The sentence included a lifetime registration as a Megan’s Law offender. The state Sexual Offender Assessment Board has since determined Smith is a sexually violent predator.

The sentence imposed by Goodman in August is to be served consecutively to a sentence he is currently serving for soliciting sex from a detective posing as a teen boy.

Smith’s admitted sexual abuse was discovered after he was arrested last year for attempting to meet up with an agent from the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, believing it was a teenage boy. He is currently serving six to 20 years in that case.

The Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General found photos of a boy on Smith’s cellphone after he was charged for soliciting.

Investigators interviewed the boy after Smith identified him, and the boy told investigators that Smith had sex with him multiple times.

According to the Office of the Attorney General, the abuse began in 2015 at Smith’s home in Tamaqua.

He paid the victim to pose for photos and perform sexual favors and made it look like the victim was being paid for legitimate work.