Rock Hill man wanted to be role model. Parents of boys he abused call him a predator.

A 26-year-old Rock Hill man was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday to three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Prosecutor Erin Joyner said Jacob Allen Smith “intentionally groomed” his two child victims, 13 and 14 years old at the time, to become emotionally reliant on him. Prosecutors say Smith used his mentor position as a baseball coach or as a member of a Charlotte church to ingratiate himself in the victims’ families before engaging in sex acts with the victims.

According to prosecutors, Smith actively pursued mentor positions at Steele Creek Church of Charlotte and as a volunteer baseball coach for Rock Hill’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department youth sports league in 2015. Smith then used those authority positions to seek out vulnerable young boys, detectives say.

“He describes himself as a mentor, a role model, like a brother to help lead children to Christ,” Joyner said in court. “He was the farthest thing from any of those descriptions.”

Joyner said the first victim, whom Smith met through the church in 2015, was invited to play video games at Smith’s home. Smith then asked the victim if he could perform oral sex on the boy, the prosecutor said. Smith performed oral sex on the boy twice that day, before and after Smith took the boy to a movie, Joyner said.

Smith was accused of molesting another boy, whom he met through his time as a youth baseball coach. The victim’s mother described to the court that Smith used his financial well-being to gain trust and access to the victim’s family.

“The biggest thing that sticks with me are the grooming behaviors,” said Detective Brooks Felmet of the Rock Hill Police Department. “Mr. Smith puts himself in the position of authority. ... I believe (him) to be a predator.”

The maximum possible sentence on the three counts was 60 years in prison. The mother of one victim said Smith “violated my child’s innocence,” and harmed her entire family.

One mother read from the Bible to describe her frustration, as she said much of Smith’s actions came through “spiritually based” concern.

“Now, truth be told, it was a fake,” she said. “Just a smoke screen. We have spent many hours in prayer to our God that Jacob will repent, truly, wholeheartedly and honestly.”

In addition to prison time, Smith will be added to the sex offenders’ registry and will be required to wear a GPS monitoring device at all times.

Defense lawyer Chris Wellborn asked Judge Dan Hall for leniency, explaining that treatment, not incarceration, was the best option for rehabilitation.

Wellborn characterized Smith as having the maturity of an “11-, 12-, 13-year old boy” living in the body of a much older man. He said Smith has been “physically assaulted and beaten” by other inmates at the York County Detention Center after they learned of Smith’s charges.

Rock Hill detectives say Smith told them he developed a “curiosity” to view child pornography, and viewed it “less than five times.”

“I think it makes a point without intending to make the point,” Joyner said. “He had an attraction, and he took it to the next level when he invited those two young boys over.”

Smith’s prison sentence will include time served since his arrest in April 2016.

This story was originally published January 26, 2017 at 8:13 AM with the headline "Rock Hill man wanted to be role model. Parents of boys he abused call him a predator.."