Gregory Smith, 45, of Palm Coast, Faces at Least 7 Felonies from Years of Sexually Assaulting Adolescent

Gregory Allen Smith, a 45-year-old resident of 6 Plateau Place in Palm Coast, is being held without bond at the Flagler County jail on five first-degree felony rape charges and two molestation charges involving the adolescent daughter of his wife before they separated in 2019.

They separated immediately after the alleged victim disclosed the abuse. The Plateau Place address is not where the abuse took place; that was elsewhere in the P-Section.

The alleged victim’s mother told a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy that “the abuse occurred on multiple occasions and ceased after she discovered what was happening. She recalled being away at a sleep study with one of her other children when [her daughter] disclosed the abuse to her. It was later confirmed that this disclosure took place in November 2019.”

Deputies responded to the mother’s residence on June 19. Smith was arrested by the Fugitive Apprehension Unit late Friday afternoon at 150 Sawgrass Road, site of the offices of the University of Florida’s extension office at the county fairgrounds, where he happened to be installing cabinets that day (he does not work there. An earlier version of this article had incorrectly referred to the location as his workplace without qualifying it.)

According to the arrest report, the mother confronted Allen through Facebook Messenger, through which Allen allegedly “admitted to all of the allegations.” In the messages, the mother recalled him going “into great detail” describing a multiplicity of abusive acts he performed on her and had her perform on him. He told her he had deactivated his Facebook account.

When a deputy reached the alleged victim, who is now an adult, she became “audibly upset and emotional,” then described the multiplicity of assaults much as her mother had described them, noting that the incidents had occurred several times a week over a long period. Detectives arranged for communications with Smith in which he was not aware that he was being recorded. In those communications, Smith admitted to assaults starting when the girl was 14, admitting as well, according to the report, that what he did was wrong.

He communicates that he did not know why he committed the abuses. He was in custodial relationship with the girl, who at the time was referred to as his stepdaughter. The couple also have a 14-year-old boy in common. Until last year Smith was paying child support for a son who turned 18 last June. That son is from a previous relationship.

“This is heartbreaking,” Sheriff Rick Staly was quoted as saying in a release. “No child should ever be a victim of sexual abuse—especially at the hands of someone in a position of authority and trust. It took a lot of bravery for this young victim to come forward. Our focus now is to provide support for the victim and the victim’s family so they may find justice and healing as they work through this traumatic experience.”

The five rape charges each carry a 30-year maximum sentence. The two second-degree molestation charges carry 15 years each. The State Attorney’s Office has not yet filed the charges it will pursue, and additional charges may yet be filed. If tried and convicted, his maximum exposure is to 180 years in prison. If his confessions are recorded, a plea deal is likelier. At his first appearance hearing, Smith was assigned an assistant public defender. The case is likely to be prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark.