BAY MINETTE, Ala. -- A Robertsdale man who fled rather than face sentencing in March on child pornography charges will spend the rest of his life in prison.

John David Smith, 54, of Robertsdale, was sentenced Friday to life without the possibility of parole and a consecutive 99 years in prison for the production of pornography of a minor under age 17 and possession of pornography of a minor under age 17.

According to a press release issued Friday by the Baldwin County District Attorney’s office Circuit Judge Lang Floyd gave Smith the sentence because he has three prior felonies and was sentenced under the Habitual Offender Act.

Smith had entered a blind plea of guilty to the charges in February. A blind plea is one in which no agreement has been reached with the prosecution for a sentencing recommendation.

He was being electronically monitored by the Community Corrections Division of the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office when he cut his CPS ankle monitor off prior to the hearing and was on the run for four months before being arrested in July Poteau, Okla., after he approached a park ranger and said he was having car trouble.

The park ranger became suspicious when Smith gave him false information, according to reports, and after further investigation, was able to determine Smith’s true identity and detained him for extradition back to Baldwin County.

Smith was booked into the Baldwin County Corrections Facility in the early morning hours of Friday, July 26 and was held without bond until his sentencing hearing.

Smith’s victim, step-daughter Frances Cottle, took the witness stand to tell how Smith and her mother had secretly videotaped her nude when she was age 14. She testified that they did drugs with her, and prevented her from having a normal teenaged life and relationships.

Cottle said that both her mother and stepfather tried to convince her to have Smith’s baby. Cottle also spoke publicly to news media after the trial, saying that she was making her experience public in order to encourage other victims to come forward and stop perpetrators before they hurt another child. She expressed appreciation to District Attorney Hallie Dixon for believing her and Judge Floyd for imposing the maximum sentence.

“I am so proud of this young lady,” Dixon said. “She has waited so long and remained so strong. Through her efforts and bravery, this man will live the rest of his days behind bars.”

Smith, and his wife, Virginia Booth Smith, were indicted in 2005 on related charges. Dixon prosecuted Virginia Smith in 2007 and won a conviction resulting in a life sentence for the victim’s mother.

Smith, however, escaped prosecution for years by feigning mental incompetence and severe physical disability, confining himself to a wheelchair and even convincing psychologists that he was unable to assist with his own defense.

Dixon believed the victim when she reported that Smith was faking, and investigators from her office and the Sheriff’s Office secured proof that Smith could stand trial. Prior to sentencing Smith, Floyd congratulated the defendant on finding his voice and being able to walk into the courtroom.