BERRIEN COUNTY — A Berrien County man convicted of attempting to entice a child for indecent purposes and attempted child molestation, after he was caught on Dateline NBC’s To Catch a Predator, via the Internet, has filed a motion for a new trial.

After being found guilty by a jury in Harris County Superior Court last November, 37-year-old Marvin Harrison Smith II has requested a new trial under grounds that the verdict was reached contrary to law, contrary to evidence and strongly against the weight of evidence. Smith has obtained new legal representation since the 2007 trial and is taking several steps to see that his conviction is overturned.

To Catch a Predator

If you’ve ever seen the To Catch a Predator series, then you know the purpose of the show is to identify potential sexual predators who have made contact via Internet with children or people they believe to be children for sexual conversation and/or activity. The cases, reported by Dateline Reporter Chris Hansen, are investigated as part of a sting operation with the assistance of local law enforcement agencies in a particular area and the Perverted-Justice Foundation, Inc., an organization known for investigating and identifying online sexual predators.

According to information found on msnbc.com, decoys from Perverted-Justice build profiles as minors in online communities, enter different chat-rooms and wait for people to send them messages. If and when the decoys are contacted by adults, they engage in conversation while investigators collect evidence that includes adult pornography, child pornography or sexually explicit chat.

The alleged offenders are invited to a house used in the sting operation and usually arrange a time when they believe the decoy will be home alone to visit. If and when the potential predators arrive at and enter the residence, they usually encounter Hansen, who conducts a brief interview before the suspects are taken into custody by law enforcement and charged.

While many viewers feel that the work done on the series is commendable, several viewers feel that the method used is a ploy to lure people into traps, according to comments posted on the Dateline web site’s feedback page.

Smith’s Arrest and Conviction

Smith, an Alapaha native, was arrested in 2006 during a four and a half day sting operation in Fortson, along with 19 other men. The operation was organized, in part, by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

Hansen’s live blog about the apprehension of Smith reads:

“Then there’s 35-year-old Marvin Smith. For the better part of a week he chatted with a decoy posing as a 15-year-old girl. It was absolutely one of the most graphic chats I’ve seen in all of the investigations so far. He details what he wants to do to the girl. He introduces the decoy to a woman he says is his girlfriend and suggests three way sex. He even brags that he has had sex with another 15-year-old girl. Smith, who online goes by the screen name Swgamaleyess, has been saying all week that he’s going to show up at our house. Time after time he stands us up. We started to think that he was getting satisfaction from the chat and wouldn’t really come over. Finally, on the last day of our investigation he pulls into our driveway and walks into our kitchen with hidden cameras rolling. He asks our decoy for a hug and when he starts to follow her into the next room he sees one of our cameramen and bolts. Smith doesn’t get very far. What happens next is a first for us. When Smith tries to run from the deputies, he’s shot by a Taser and knocked to the ground. It’s not until he’s questioned by detectives that we learn Smith also has a religious side saying he used to be a Baptist minister.”

The video of Smith’s arrest also revealed that he was married at the time.

Smith went to court in November 2007 on allegations of attempted child molestation, attempt to entice a child and obstruction. He was originally supposed to be tried in Harris County; however, the venue of the trial was changed to Dalton County.