Jury Deadlocks In Ventura County Child Molestation Case, Mistrial Declared

Wednesday August 02, 2023

     Updated--A mistrial was declared in a Ventura County child molestation case after the jury told the judge they were hopelessly deadlocked on everything after less than two days of deliberations.

     44-year-old Micah Smith of Calabasas is facing dozens of charges and special allegations regarding multiple victims.

     He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has denied all special allegations and he testified in his own defense during the two week trial.

      Prosecutors allege multiple female victims who were sexually molested over several years who are now adults.

     They also testified at the trial.

     While all involved are out of county residents, the crimes that are alleged happened in Ventura County.

     While telling the jury not to indicate in what direction they were deadlocked, the judge asked the jury to indicate the numerical split and the response indicated a jury that wasn't even close to reaching a verdict on anything.

     After declaring a mistrial because of the deadlocked jury, the judge set August 17th to consider a retrial.

     Smith remains in the Ventura County jail with bail set at more than $3 million.