Sisters man guilty in luring case

A Deschutes County jury has found a 36-year-old Sisters man guilty on three charges related to an attempt to lure a 15-year-old girl for sex last year.

Matthew Taylor Smith left a suggestive note for the girl, including his phone number, after seeing her at a Burger King in Bend last year. The girl's mother provided the note to Redmond Police, who began contact with Smith via text message, posing as the girl.

A relative of Smith told The Nugget that Smith had initially thought the girl was an adult and does not have an interest in underage girls. However, after a lengthy series of text exchanges, Smith arranged to meet with (as he thought) the girl at a park in Bend. There, Redmond Police officers arrested him on charges of luring a minor, first-degree online sexual corruption of a child, and second-degree attempted sexual abuse.

Smith's lawyers and Smith's relative argue that the man would not have attempted to meet for sex with the girl if the police had not broken down his objections to having sex with a minor and led him into it through a lengthy, graphic exchange of texts.

Smith pleaded not guilty, but a jury last Wednesday handed up guilty verdicts on all three counts. He faces sentencing on November 1.