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WILKES-BARRE — Phillip Smith said Wednesday it has been hard being in jail since his capture by U.S. Marshals on April 3.

He has about five more years of hardship if he is released when he reaches the minimum sentence.

Luzerne County Judge Joseph Sklarosky Jr. sentenced Smith, 43, last known address as South Main Street, Pittston, to a total of 63 months to 15 years in state prison on a variety of charges, including having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl. He was given credit for 247 days time served.

“It’s hard,” Smith told Sklarosky about being incarcerated at the county correctional facility since his capture.

Smith was on the run for more than five weeks until he was caught by Wilkes-Barre police and U.S. Marshals at a residence on South Empire Street on April 3. He had been wanted by Pittston police on charges he sexually assaulted a teen girl in August 2017.

Court papers say Smith gave the girl a cigarette at the Pittston Tomato Festival on Aug. 20, 2017, and later met her at a garage on South Main Street where he gave her alcohol before having sex with her.

Then on Aug. 26, 2017, Smith picked up the girl at a store in Kingston and took her back to the garage where he gave her alcohol and had sex, court papers say.

Pittston police said DNA linked Smith to the girl.

Smith was sentenced on charges of statutory sexual assault and corruption of minors. He pleaded guilty to the charges Sept. 6.

Assistant District Attorney Angela Sperrazza said Smith will be subjected to lifetime registration of his address, employment and vehicle ownership with state police as a Megan’s Law offender.

Smith’s attorney, Matthew L. Clemente, said his client “accepted responsibility.”

In an unrelated case, the sentence imposed by Sklarosky also includes a drunken driving offense when Smith crashed his vehicle into a utility pole on Main Street, Jenkins Township, on Jan. 7, 2018. Township police said Smith’s alcohol level was .20 percent. The legal limit is 0.08 percent.

Sklarosky ordered Smith to pay PPL $15,000 in restitution as the utility pole had to be replaced.

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By Ed Lewis

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