North Las Vegas pastor, wife indicted on sexual assault charges
A North Las Vegas pastor and his wife who were indicted last month on child abuse and sexual assault charges are both accused of assaulting a younger member of their church, according to grand jury transcripts.
Bobby Cornealius Smith, 46, was arrested in August on sexual assault and child abuse charges, and his wife, LaShawn Smith, initially was charged with one count of child abuse. On March 31, Bobby Smith was indicted on attempted sexual assault, child abuse and nine counts of sexual assault, and LaShawn Smith was indicted on one count each of sexual assault and child abuse.
Three women have told police that Bobby Smith, the pastor at New Beginnings Ministries in North Las Vegas, sexually assaulted them when they were teenagers or young adults. One of the women testified that when she was younger, LaShawn Smith also sexually assaulted her, according to transcripts of a March 30 grand jury hearing that were posted last week.
The woman, who is now 29, said LaShawn Smith assaulted her at the direction of Bobby Smith while she was in Bobby Smith’s apartment, and that the pastor was in the room when it happened, according to the transcripts. She testified that Bobby Smith then raped her.
The woman and another alleged victim told police that Bobby Smith had used sex toys on them multiple times when they were teenagers, according to the transcripts. Another woman, now 31, testified that Bobby Smith exposed himself to her and assaulted her at his home when she was younger.
Defense attorneys for Bobby and LaShawn Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Two of the women testified that they became heavily involved in the church as teenagers and were considered Bobby Smith’s “Goddaughters,” according to transcripts of the grand jury hearing.
Bobby Smith considered multiple girls and boys his goddaughters and godsons, and they were given a “privileged position” in the church, one of the women testified.
A North Las Vegas detective testified that the woman who said Bobby and LaShawn Smith had assaulted her reported the alleged assault in 2014, but the Metropolitan Police Department closed the case. The detective did not testify as to why it was closed.
That woman also testified that before LaShawn and Bobby Smith had assaulted her, she spoke with LaShawn Smith about the pastor using sex toys on her. She testified that LaShawn Smith indicated she knew Bobby Smith had used the toys on her and another victim.
“It was really alarming to me like that she knew everything,” the woman testified.
One of the other women reported the assaults to police in 2022, which is when the North Las Vegas Police Department began its investigation, according to the transcripts.
In August, LaShawn Smith told North Las Vegas police that there had been “sexual relations” between herself, her husband and one of the alleged victims. She also admitted that she knew her husband had given a sex toy to at least one of the alleged victims.
In an interview with police, Bobby Smith admitted to providing one of the alleged victims with a sex toy and admitted to witnessing his wife have sex with a different alleged victim, but he denied raping the woman. He also denied exposing himself and assaulting the third alleged victim, according to the transcripts.
Bobby Smith’s bail was set at $225,000 during a court hearing on Wednesday, court records show. He remained in the Clark County Detention Center on Monday.
LaShawn Smith’s bail was set at $100,000 last week, but she posted a surety bond on Monday, court records show.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.