Rickie Friar
Two Memphis men — a pastor and a former reserve police officer — have been indicted on separate child pornography charges, according to two back-to-back press releases from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.
Oak Hill Missionary Baptist Church pastor Demarcus Smith, who is also a member of the Baptist Ministerial Association, was indicted on child pornography possession charges. On numerous occasions between August 2014 and May 2015, Smith, who is 32 years old, reportedly coerced a boy, who was under 18, to take pictures of himself engaging in sexual conduct and then to send those images to Smith’s cell phone.
Smith faces a minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment if convicted of coercion/solicitation of a minor and a minimum of 15 years if convicted of production of child pornography. He also faces up to 20 years imprisonment if convicted of receipt of child pornography, and he faces up to $250,000 in fines per offense.
Additionally, former Millington reserve police officer Rickie Friar, 66, has been indicted on multiple charges for possessing and producing child pornography.
Friar reportedly created images and videos of six girls, all of them minors and one under the age of 12, engaging in sexual conduct between July 2013 and July 2015. Friar also reportedly drove one of the minors from Tennessee to Oklahoma to engage in a sex act. The indictment says he also downloaded child porn from the internet and stored the porn in his computer.
The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office has also filed charges alleging Friar had sexual contact with minor females. He’s been in state prison since July. He faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted of transporting a minor for criminal sexual activity,15 years for each count of production of child pornography, and 20 years imprisonment for possession of child pornography.
Friar also faces up to $250,000 in fines per offense of conviction.
