Sheriff Darren Campbell stated The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit received a report from a female victim who stated she had been sexually assaulted by an adult male in 2012 when she was 14 years old and living in Iredell County. The suspect is Dalton Smallwood, 43 years old, and at the time the report was filed he was living in Chickamauga, Georgia. The case was assigned to Detective Sergeant C M Benfield for investigation. The victim stated that Smallwood was a friend of the family she met while attending church in Iredell County. During the investigation, it was determined that Smallwood had met with the victim at different locations in Southern Iredell County when the sexual activity took place. After the investigation, warrants were obtained against Smallwood for six counts of statutory rape/sex offense and one count of indecent liberties with a child.
Smallwood was served with the charges for Iredell County and was placed under a $1,000,000 bond. Rowan County also investigated the suspect for allegations involving the same victim and charges for sexual assault have been filed in that county as well. Smallwood is currently being held in Rowan County Detention under the charges for both agencies.