Ex-Missouri Teacher Sentenced to 5 Years for Sex Crimes

A former suburban St. Louis teacher and coach has been sentenced to five years in prison for sex crimes with a middle school student.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 43-year-old Ronald Smith Jr., of Maryland Heights, was sentenced Thursday for three counts of statutory rape and one count each of statutory sodomy and sexual contact with a student by a teacher. He pleaded guilty to the crimes in September.

He taught industrial technology at Parkway South Middle School and coached girls basketball and football at Parkway South High School. Court records allege that the sexual contact began in 2015 and continued through last year.

Smith was fired after the victim reported the sexual contact to a counselor. The district has petitioned the state to have Smith’s teaching certification revoked.