Agape Boarding School doctor to remain in Arkansas custody during COVID isolation

David E. Smock, the Agape Boarding School physician accused of 11 felony sex crimes against children, remained in custody Tuesday at an Arkansas jail where he was booked a week ago, after several days during which he was allegedly on the run from law enforcement.

Meanwhile, Smock's defense team in Missouri sought his release on bond for the second time in two days.

Smock's Springfield-based attorney, Stacie Bilyeu, told a Greene County court she had not been able to speak to her client since the doctor was apprehended with the help of U.S. Marshals in Harrison, Arkansas three days after Christmas.

On Monday in Cedar County, where Agape Boarding School is based, Judge Gary Troxell denied a motion from Smock's attorneys to set bond or release him on his own recognizance.

Smock was charged Dec. 21 in the Cedar County case and faces eight felony charges brought by Vernon County Prosecutor Brandi L. McInroy, acting as special prosecutor for Cedar County, along with Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt.

Last week, the Kansas City Star reported that Cedar County Prosecutor Ty Gaither said he "knew Dr. Smock." Gaither told the Star he had attended the clinic Smock owns in Stockton for services including a flu shot, and thus Gaither believed another prosecutor should look at the Smock case.

Tuesday morning, Judge Ron Carrier in Greene County delayed ruling on a separate bond motion until Smock could safely emerge from COVID-19 isolation in Arkansas. Judge Carrier said he was unwilling to hear a bond motion without the defendant being present in the courtroom.

More: Missouri boarding school doctor charged with three felony sex crimes

One of Smock's attorneys, Bilyeu, told Carrier that Smock had tested positive for COVID-19 around the time of his Arkansas jail booking. Smock was expected to be cleared from isolation on Wednesday, according to new CDC guidelines that call for just five days of isolation after coronavirus symptoms clear up.

The Greene County court set a new bond hearing date for Jan. 13. That hearing is linked to three felonies Smock is accused of committing during a 2018 trip in which prosecutors and law enforcement say Smock brought an Agape student from Cedar County to clean up a rental property he owned in Springfield.

Smock is accused of sexually abusing the boy, then age 13, during that trip. Charges include second-degree statutory sodomy; third-degree child molestation of a child younger than 14; and enticement or attempted enticement of a child younger than 15.

More: Former Agape Boarding School students say FBI is now examining abuse allegations

In Cedar County, Smock is accused of eight other felonies: sexual misconduct involving a child under 15, four counts of statutory sodomy or attempted statutory sodomy with deviate sexual intercourse involving a person less than 14 years old, second-degree statutory sodomy, fourth-degree child molestation and first-degree stalking. The Cedar County charges cover allegations of crimes said to have taken place between summer 2018 and spring 2021.

In a sign that the Smock case may turn high-profile, Judge Carrier on Tuesday granted a media request from a Springfield-area broadcast TV outlet to film court proceedings on the matter. The judge told prosecutors that if they wished to file an objection to media filming of juvenile witnesses in the case, they should plan to file with enough time to handle any issues in advance.

Should Smock be found guilty of charges filed in Cedar County, he could face potential life prison terms for the four counts of statutory sodomy or attempted statutory sodomy, and terms of up to four years in prison for the other charges. The Greene County charges are serious as well, including a child enticement count with a maximum punishment of 30 years in prison.

Background: Smock's son-in-law previously charged in Agape case

Smock is closely linked to Agape Boarding School, as reported earlier by the Kansas City Star, the Associated Press and other news outlets. Among five defendants linked to Agape who were charged with low-level felonies in September, one man, Seth Duncan, is Smock's son-in-law. Duncan was charged with five counts of third-degree assault, punishable by up to four years in prison should he be convicted.

Two former Agape students who are plaintiffs in separate civil lawsuits against the school, but not linked to any current criminal proceedings against Smock, recently told the News-Leader they witnessed or experienced behavior by Smock they regarded as inappropriate.

A 19-year-old California man called Smock a "predator" and said, "Sometimes Smock would just put his hand on my thigh and like, slowly go toward my underwear and stop right there." This behavior started when the man became a student at age 12 and continued until he left Agape at age 14, the man said.

A 27-year-old Michigan man told the News-Leader last week that Agape staff who took underage students off campus to Smock's walk-in clinic in Stockton weren't truthful about why the boys needed to see a doctor.

"Anytime they restrained us or we got hurt, they took us to his office, and it was always reported as a sports injury or something-else injury," the man said.

Agape, a 30-year-old Christian boys' reform school, has been denounced by former students who say they were subject to severe physical, emotional and sexual abuse while in the school's care.

It is one of several Missouri-based unlicensed religious reform schools that have drawn scrutiny from state and local authorities and news outlets since 2020. In July, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed a reform bill requiring background checks for workers who come into contact with children at these schools; the new law also allows state oversight of the schools and requires the schools to register with state authorities.

In September, Missouri Attorney General Schmitt advocated that numerous charges be filed against as many as 22 Agape staffers over allegations of child abuse and other wrongdoing, a stance that brought him into public conflict with the local prosecutor, Gaither, who opted to charge just five Agape staffers.

Reach News-Leader reporter Gregory Holman by emailing gholman@gannett.com. Please consider subscribing to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Agape school doctor facing sex charges to remain in COVID isolation