Ex-Rochester patrolman's rape trial begins with alleged victim taking stand

Former Rochester Police Officer Randy Smith walks out of Courtroom 2 of Strafford Superior Court in Dover on Monday. (Rochester Voice photos)

ROCHESTER - The trial of a former Rochester police officer accused of raping a city woman in 2017 and attempted sexual assault with the same woman in 2019 began on Monday with opening arguments revealing that the two had had multiple sexual encounters that were consensual over the course of several years.
On the two instances for which Randy Smith, 37, of Misty Lane, Rochester, was accused in the August 2020 indictments, however, prosecutor Patricia G. Conway argued that the alleged victim never consented to either.
In the 2017 incident, Conway said Smith used the element of surprise to perform a sex act on her in the

Former Rochester Police Officer Randy Smith listens to opening arguments during his rape trial on Monday at Strafford Superior Court in Dover.

kitchen of a friend's house, while in the 2019 incident he tried to undress her on a couch in the home where she lived.
Four indictments handed down in August 2020 say he alternatively used "superior strength" and/or the "element of surprise in both incidents.
Each Class A felony carries a maximum prison term of 20 years.
During opening arguments Conway said Smith perpetrated the sexual assaults to satisfy his own "sick needs," while defense counsel Thomas Reid said the victim's story changed and altered after various police agencies and counselors got involved and asked leading questions that embellished the incidents from the typical emotional vagaries that occur during a longtime casual sexual dalliance into indictable offenses.

Randy Smith while with Rochester Police (Courtesy)

Reid said typical rape probe protocols were not used in the case, adding forensic interviews should've been done at the Strafford County Sheriff's Office but weren't. He also said the alleged victim's story evolved over time as more influencers got involved.
The alleged victim on Monday also admitted she has memory problems due to a traumatic brain injury suffered in a car crash while in high school.
Smith, who was hired by Rochester Police in 2007, was placed on unpaid administrative leave after the indictments, which were handed down by a Rockingham County grand jury.
Strafford County prosecutors are not involved in the case due to their relationship with Smith during criminal cases where he may have testified as a Rochester Police officer.
For the same reason State Police investigated the case.
The trial continues today and is scheduled to run till Dec. 21, according to prosecuting attorney John Goodlander.