Mountain Top Media
Lawrence County jury recommends 10 years in child exploitation case
LOUISA, Ky. — A Lawrence County jury has recommended a 10-year prison sentence for a Morgan County man found guilty of child exploitation charges.
Caleb Smith, 23, of West Liberty, was found guilty this week of using a minor in a sexual performance and distributing matter portraying a sexual performance of a minor. The jury determined in March of 2021, Smith recorded a minor younger than 16 engaged in sexual activity and either distributed or intended to distribute that recording.
“The protection of our children remains a vital mission of this office,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Matt Runyon said. “We are grateful to the jury for their careful deliberation and for ensuring that individuals who exploit minors are held accountable for their actions.”
“This conviction is a testament to the hard work and seamless collaboration between the Kentucky State Police, the Ashland Police Department, and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office,” Asst. Commonwealth’s Attorney David Blankenship added. “We remain committed to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our community.”
Smith will be formally sentenced April 9 in Lawrence Circuit Court.
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MBB: Marshall Men’s Basketball Wins 94-93 Thriller Over App State
PRESS RELEASE: MARSHALL ATHLETICS
BOONE, N.C. – Marshall freshman Landen Joseph scored a career-high 24 points – the final points coming on a fadeaway 12-foot jumper with 12 seconds left – to propel the Herd to a 94-93 comeback win over App State at Holmes Convocation Center on Thursday night.
With the win, Marshall moves to 18-10 overall and is now 10-5 in the Sun Belt – tied for first place in the league with three games to play.
“We stayed the course and we had some guys make some big plays down the stretch,” Marshall Men’s Basketball coach Corny Jackson said. “It was a huge win. In the second half, we came out and flipped our mindset and had guys making winning plays.”
Joseph took the game over in the final minutes, getting to his spots and knocking down contested shots to silence a raucous crowd on the road.
His final two of 18 second-half points gave the Herd a 94-92 lead with just 12 seconds left, but the Herd still had to survive a free throw attempt by App State’s Jalen Tot in the final five seconds. Tot missed the second of two at the line and Shamarrie Hugie grabbed the rebound and got it to Joseph, who dribbled out the win for the Herd.
“I believe in the coaches every day and my teammates always encourage each other,” Joseph said. “I feel like positivity spreads through our game and we all want to win.”
In a game full of big plays and bigger shots, Hugie came up with one of the biggest, knocking down a 3-pointer with 3:28 left that finally gave the Herd its first lead of the game at 86-84.
That basket came after Andrew Fuquay grabbed an offensive rebound and scored with 5:08 to go to tie it at 83. Fuquay also was huge in the win, finishing with a career-best 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting.
In a game that featured a ton of offense, it was actually the Herd’s defense that turned the game around as they kept App State without a field goal for a 4:23 stretch of the late stages of the game to execute its comeback.
“We played harder,” Jackson said. “I thought in the first half, they came out and they were the tougher and more physical. In the second half, we played harder and the game rewards that. When you play hard, the ball finds energy and you get downhill.”
Marshall trailed by as many as 16 in the contest and 13 in the second half as App State knocked down several big shots, but Jalen Speer – who matched Joseph with a team-high 24 points – surged in the middle of the second half to bring the Herd within striking distance.
At one point, Speer and Joseph scored 20 straight points for the Herd offense before Fuquay’s tip-in broke the stretch to tie it at 83.
Marshall shot 20 of 29 from the floor in the second half and finished the game at 57.6 percent shooting with a 44 percent clip from 3-point range.
The Herd now gets set for its final road game of the 2025-26 regular season on Saturday, taking on Coastal Carolina at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Marshall then returns home for a pair of games in the final week of the regular season – Tuesday’s 7 p.m. battle with Old Dominion and a 9 p.m. Senior Day contest on Feb. 27 that will be nationally televised by ESPN2.
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The post MBB: Marshall Men’s Basketball Wins 94-93 Thriller Over App State appeared first on Mountain Top Media.
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