New trial for FCI Dublin prison officer 'Dirty Dick' Smith to begin earlier than planned
Former FCI Dublin correctional officer Darrell Wayne "Dirty Dick" Smith enters the Oakland federal courthouse on March 18, 2025, the second day of his sex crime trial.
OAKLAND, Calif. - A new trial for a former FCI Dublin prison correctional officer is slated to begin this summer, earlier than planned.
Last week, a federal jury deadlocked on whether Darrell Wayne "Dirty Dick" Smith was guilty of 15 counts of sex abuse, and a mistrial was declared.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said it planned to hold a second trial on Sept. 15.
But on Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers changed those dates, ordering that jury selection begin on Aug. 20 and opening statements begin on Aug. 25.
Smith is the only one of eight former FCI Dublin correctional officers charged with similar sex crimes not to have been found guilty.
The other seven, including the former warden, either all pleaded guilty to sex crimes or were found guilty by juries.
During the first trial, which began in March, Smith maintained his innocence, and his defense team argued that the women who testified against him were felons, motivated to lie, as many of them also won a portion of a $116 million settlement with the Bureau of Prisons, and there was no physical evidence to support their allegations.
Smith also told KTVU he felt that the coverage against him had been unfair.
He did not take the stand to testify on his own behalf.
One juror told the East Bay Times that the settlements received by incarcerated women who sued the BOP claiming the prison fostered a climate of abuse and retaliation played a "huge part" in believing their testimony.
Testimony from a dozen women during the trial revealed that Smith allegedly peeled back shower curtains to masturbate at the prison, spanked them in their cells and withheld their mail if they wouldn't flash their breasts or have sexual encounters with him.
Women also testified that Smith, who often came to work dressed as a cowboy, would sexually abuse them and "walk around, like he owned that place."
The exact charges that federal prosecutors filed against Smith are abusive sexual contact, sexual abuse of a ward, aggravated sexual abuse and deprivation of rights under color of law.
Michelle Lo, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said the office declined comment as to whether prosecutors would alter their strategy for the second trial.