Man Facing Child Sex Offenses Released from Orange County Custody

A Roxboro man facing nearly two dozen child sex offense charges from the mid-1980s has been released from Orange County Jail after putting his house up for bond.

Officials with the Clerk of Court’s Office in Hillsborough confirmed that Donald Roy Smith had been released from custody after putting his home up to cover his bond. Smith is facing a range of child sex offense charges alleged to have occurred between 1984 and 1989.

Assistant District Attorney Byron Beasley said at a previous court hearing that the three alleged victims ranged in age from four to 15 years old over the course of the allegations.

Smith was arrested on Friday, June 30, and made his first appearance in court the following Tuesday – after the long July 4 holiday weekend. He was initially held on a $1.5 million bond. Smith’s bond was reduced to $100,000 by Judge Lunsford Long after an evaluation from pre-trial release confirmed that Smith had no other criminal record and did not deem him a risk to skip his next court date.

There was also concern that Smith, who has cancer, was not able to get all of his prescribed medication because it was considered a narcotic and, therefore, not allowed into the jail.

Weighing those factors, Long lowered Smith’s bond to $100,00 and allowed Smith’s Roxboro home on Main Street to be put up to meet the bail amount.

Supporters of Smith and some of the alleged victims in the case have packed the courtroom each time Smith has made an appearance. His supporters even offered to put up half of the bail amount in cash earlier this month if the judge would allow him to be released while waiting for the paperwork to come through putting the house up for bond.

That request was denied.

The close proximity of supporters and victims in the case led to tense moments earlier this month in court when supporters of his were accused of taking pictures of the victims in the courtroom.

That led Long to issue a warning to Smith’s defense attorney George Doyle from the bench.

“You need to get your client’s supporters under control or they’re going to compromise his case, Mr. Doyle.”

As part of his bond, Smith and his supporters have been ordered to have no contact with any of the alleged victims or their families.

Smith was initially scheduled for a probable cause hearing on July 25, but his next court appearance is now slated for September 9.