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Man pleads guilty to chaining boy to table

2 min read
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A North Strabane Township man accused of chaining an 11-year-old boy to a kitchen table was sentenced to 3 to 23 months in the Washington County jail.

Joshua Lee Smith, 39, of 100 Garden St., pleaded guilty Monday before Washington County Judge John DiSalle to false imprisonment, simple assault and child endangerment.

Police were called to Smith’s home in May 2013 for a domestic dispute. When police arrived, they were directed to the kitchen by Lori Seaman. Smith was kneeling next to the boy, who was sitting at the dinner table with a plate of food in front of him.

Officer Michael Miller sat down next to the boy to find out what happened, and saw a chain attached to his right leg. The other end of the chain was nailed to the stairs leading to the basement.

The boy told police that he did not want to eat the food on his plate and Smith became angry. He said Smith made him go outside and get one of the dog chains in the yard. Smith then allegedly nailed one end of the chain to the stairs and attached the other end to the boy’s leg.

The boy said he became sick and vomited some of the food. Smith reportedly told the boy he was not moving until he ate everything on his plate.

Officers had to use wire cutters to remove the chain from the boy’s leg. Seaman substantiated the boy’s story.

The sentence was part of a plea agreement. In addition to the jail time, Smith was also sentenced to 4 years of probation and anger management classes. Smith is to not have contact with any of Seaman’s children. Smith was given credit for time already served in jail and was released.

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