Man Guilty in Boy’s Kidnaping, Sex Abuse

Ex-convict David Collins was convicted Thursday on one count of kidnaping and two counts of molesting Robert Smith, 14, of Long Beach.

Collins, who contended that the youngster left home voluntarily and that he never molested they during the 21-month transcontinental odyssey that ended with their arrest in Rhode island 15 months ago, showed no emotion as the verdict was read.

Defense attorney Michael DiLauro declined to comment, but prosecutor Michael Stone expressed satisfaction.

“I think we presented a strong case, with evidence to back it up,” he said.

Sentencing was set for Thursday. Collins has already served a dozen years in prison in five states for forgery, bank fraud and auto theft and now faces the possibility of life imprisonment.

The eight-man, four-woman jury brought in its verdict just 2 1/2 hours after receiving the case.

Collins, 56, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., was accused of having kidnaped Robert from his Long Beach home nearly three yeas ago and using a string of aliases and false identification to take the boy on a tour that eventually stretched from California to Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts and finally Rhode Island, where they were taken into custody on Jan. 7, 1985.

Smith testified last week that Collins had prevented him from contacting his parents and that he was molested by Collins “almost every day.”

However, Collins said the boy had made up the story, because he feared his family’s wrath if he admitted that he willingly accompanied Collins. He also insisted that he had never molested the youngster at any time, calling their relationship “that of father and son.”