An Oak Grove man will spend the next two decades in a state prison after his conviction on a charge of statutory sodomy.

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office announced Wednesday, Oct. 22 that 48-year-old Joel Ryan Smith received a sentence of 25 years from Circuit Judge Josh Taylor in a Lafayette County courtroom. A jury convicted Smith in September on a single charge that Smith had inappropriately touched a boy under 12 years old in the summer of 2023. In a statement, Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said that, “this sentence sends a clear message that Missouri will not tolerate those who prey on our children.” She also commended the victim for stepping forward to report the crime, and the work of her office’s Public Protection Section for their work to prosecute Smith and secure the conviction.

The attorney general’s office handled the case, after Lafayette County Prosecutor Kristen Hilbrenner recused herself last year. Smith will receive credit for 486 days spent in the county jail.