A Harnett County man will spend between six and nine years in prison for sex crimes involving a child.

Joe Smith pleaded guilty in the case this week, decades after it happened. 

Other WRAL Top Stories

While WRAL News does not typically identify victims of sexual abuse, the survivor in this case wanted to share her story to help others. 

Cameras were not allowed in court as Helena, the survivor, faced Joe Smith. She forgave the man who raped and tortured her for years. He is also her father. 

"I forgive you for everything, even the molestation, even the beatings and the torture,” she said in court, reading from a statement. “No doctor visits, no first aid kits, just handcuffed to the refrigerator.” 

Helena spoke with WRAL News after the court hearing. 

“That was hard,” she said. “I was trembling because all the stuff he said to me just came flooded back. The first time I did the interview with the DA, I smelled the hair grease he used on me for the first time. I smelled it, and it was nowhere in the courtroom. That's trauma, and it's crazy.”

Smith pleaded guilty to crimes dating back to the 1990s. 

"Nobody came to my aid. Nobody came to get me from up there. Nobody knew I was handcuffed to the refrigerator. Nobody knew that I got shot at,” Helena said.  

Helena’s journey for justice came to a head when Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Brandon Taylor got involved with the case in 2021. 

“As I was investigating this disappearance of the infant and the mother who are related to Helena, I learned about a gentleman by the name of Joe Smith, who is Helena's father,” Taylor explained. “Looking at his criminal history and reports from the Department of Social Services, I learned of these heinous crimes that he had committed against Helena." 

In January of 2022, ATF charged Smith with possession of a firearm by a felon after seizing four firearms at his home on Lemon Lane. They located the missing child and turned her and a sibling over to Harnett DSS.

Then, Taylor’s focus turned to getting justice for Helena. 

"When he first came to me, he was in tears,” Helena said. “He was like, ‘Shouldn't no one have to endure this. And I'm going to have your back from the beginning to the end.’ And my God, has he had my back! I thought that was my fault until Brandon told me, ‘No, it's not your fault. You didn't. You didn't consent to this.’" 

As Helena read her statement in Harnett County Court Thursday afternoon, Taylor stood behind her, as he has through the process since 2022.  

“It was extremely emotional. I’ve been doing this for about 25 years now, and this case probably affected me the most, probably just because of the violent nature of the crimes, and the fact that the justice system had not brought her some sort of closure,” Taylor said. “That tore my heart up. and I was like, I can't, we just can't let this happen."

Helena told WRAL News she spoke in court on Thursday for others who couldn’t. 

“No one would tell on him. Everyone's scared of him, but I am not scared of him,” she said. "I had a family member asked me, ‘You never liked it?’ That broke my heart. Now, how can you ask me, Did I ever like it? I don't think anyone would like their father messing with them." 

She is turning her pain into purpose, helping others who may be struggling.

"It is not your fault. I thought that a long time. I shared it with me all the time. It was my fault, maybe the way I dress, maybe the way I walked, or I don't know what triggered him to do what he did. But for other people that's in my shoes, just know it's not your fault.” 

Helena has been married for over a decade and is a mother and grandmother.  

"The people that have my back through all this, they’re my heroes. Brandon is my hero,” Helena said. “It felt good to get my justice. So, any tears from now on to be happy tears that it's over with." 

In addition to the latest sentence, Smith will serve three years in federal prison for weapons violations. He also has to register as a sex offender. 

“Now we're at the finish line in state court,” Taylor said. “Looking and seeing her smile and just knowing that appreciates what we do; that's all that matters."