–A Cylinder man began serving his prison sentence last week after being convicted on three different sex abuse charges back in June.
According to the Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Office, Deputies transferred 65-year-old Ronald Dean Smith to the Iowa Medical Classification Center in Oakdale last Tuesday. Smith was arrested in June of 2025 and charged with 2 counts of 3rd Degree Sexual Abuse, 2 counts of dissemination of obscene material to minors, grooming, tampering with a witness, and lascivious conduct with a minor.
Following a trial this June, he was convicted on one count of 3rd Degree Sex Abuse, 1 count of disseminating obscene material and grooming.
Smith received a 10-year prison sentence on the sex abuse charge and a 5-year sentence on the grooming charge, each to run consecutively.
Court filings show that Smith’s attorneys intend to appeal the convictions.
