Lovie’s son indicted for sex-trafficking

Mikal Smith, who coached as a Bears assistant under his famous father for three years, was indicted by an Arizona grand jury after being charged last week with sex trafficking, receiving earnings of a prostitute, money laundering in the first degree and more.

Lovie Smith has been the coach at Illinois since 2016. He coached the Bears from 2004 to ’12 and led them to the Super Bowl after the 2006 season.

Mikal, 43, was hired as the Bears’ defensive quality-control coach in February 2010. In 2012, his father’s last season with the Bears, Mikal was the nickel backs coach.

According to the indictment, Smith and co-defendant Aprel Mae Rasmussen are accused of maintaining a prostitution enterprise from December 2018 to September 2019 in Maricopa County, which encompasses Phoenix and its suburbs.

They are accused of encouraging a victim to engage in acts of prostitution. Smith also is accused of compelling Rasmussen to do the same — the charge of pandering is akin to pimping — and of threatening and intimidating Rasmussen and another victim.

In all, Smith is charged with nine counts: conspiracy, illegally conducting an enterprise, first-degree money laundering, pandering, receiving earnings of a prostitute, sex trafficking and threatening and intimidating. He faces arraignment Sept. 10.

Smith played for the University of Arizona for two seasons before earning his degree at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He worked with the Cowboys nickel backs in 2013, then became his father’s safeties coach for two years with the Buccaneers. Mikal Smith