James Edward Smith II

ALPENA — James Edward Smith II, a 45-year-old Alpena man who is charged with crimes related to child sexually abusive activity, appeared in the 88th District Court on Tuesday for his preliminary examinations.

The hearing was postponed in order to provide the defense time to negotiate with the prosecution and for both the prosecution and defense to review material from the discovery process.

Now, the preliminary examination is expected to be held in mid-August.

Smith is charged with aggravated child sexually abusive activity, aggravated distributing or promoting child sexually abusive activity, four counts of aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material, and three counts of using a computer to commit a crime.

Smith was arrested following an investigation that included the seizure of digital evidence, which typically includes computers, cell phones and other electronic devices.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.