Posted by madcityradio.com on November 23, 2008 at 13:11:28:
WISC-TV meterologist suspended, faces incest charges
A veteran meteorologist at Madison's largest television station is facing felony charges of incest of a child in Sauk County Court.
Jeff Smith, 44, has been suspended from his position at WISC-TV while the station investigates the matter. He was featured on their morning weekday morning news show with anchor Rob Starbuck.
Court records show the charges were filed against Smith on Thursday. The alleged incident took place on Nov. 11, 2007.
Smith's lawyer, Madison attorney Stephen Eisenberg, said that Smith denies the allegations.
"Jeff's been a member of this community for 20 years. The people of Madison know him. He unequivocally and completely denies these allegations. He's a good father," Eisenberg said in a story posted Saturday on Channel 3000, the station's Web site.
Smith joined the station in 1992, replacing Jan Masters on its weekend weather news. Court records list his current residence as Merrimac.
According to the Baraboo News Republic, the Sauk County prosecutor says Smith groped his 7-year-old daughter during an incident last fall at their Prairie du Sac home.
Smith appeared in court Friday. He will return to court January 7. Smith has been released on signature bond.
Smith and his wife were in the midst of divorce proceedings when these allegations arose. The judge Friday ordered Smith cannot have unsupervised contact with his daughter and cannot contact his wife except during divorce proceedings, the News Republic said.
(The Capital Times)