Women offer dramatic testimony against accused serial rapist

Ikeie Smith suspected in as many as 34 sexual assaults

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. – A man suspected of sexually assaulting as many as 34 women over several years was back in a Dearborn Heights court Wednesday.

One of the women he's accused of terrorizing took the stand Wednesday to speak out about the attack. The woman talked about the most terrifying night of her life.

In total, three women in two courtrooms spoke about their encounters with Ikeie Smith Wednesday, all providing chilling testimony with similar stories about how he assaulted them inside their homes.

Smith listened to the testimony, often flipping through the Bible as his alleged victims took the stand to talk about their horrific ordeals.

"I said, 'Stop. What are you doing? Get off me,'" one woman said.

"My face, my arms, my hands, he was trying to restrain me any way he could," another woman said.

Two women both claim they were awakened by Smith in their houses in the middle of the night.

"(He said), 'Stop screaming or I'm going to kill you,'" a victim said. "So that's another thing I said to get him off me. I said I was going to stop still."

The woman testified she convinced Smith to let her go upstairs to get cash, but instead, they were met by her roommate, who chased Smith out of the house with plywood.

"I was terrified," the woman said.

Another victim told the court she used the power of prayer to save her. You can read about that woman's chilling story by clicking here.

Smith listened as the women testified how she used religion to get him to stop the assault. She said he eventually revealed his resentment towards his mother and possible other women.

"As a result of that, he ended up in foster care," the woman recounted. "While in foster care, he was sexually abused by a relative, and he blamed his mother."

Smith is charged with sexual assault, home invasion and torture. His attorney tried to get the torture charges thrown out, but the judges in all three cases bound him over for trial.

Sign up for ClickOnDetroit Email Newsletters (click here) for more stories like this.


About the Authors:

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.