MATT SMITH: Little League, for a kid in Texarkana– that's what your world revolves around.
MARC SMITH: Richard Roberts would come watch me play as a 9-year-old. And the relationship was more touchy feely. It was just a different relationship than I was used to having with adults.
MATT SMITH: First and foremost, he was our baseball coach. That's when the abuse for me began. My brother and I'd never spoke about that part of it for... close to 20 years. When we found out that we had waited too long to come forward, it was a devastating blow.
CONNER ELDRIDGE: So the Smith brothers could not pursue state charges because the statute of limitations had expired. So we looked at it federally, and fortunately were able to– to find a way to prosecute it under federal statutes and send Roberts to prison.
MATT SMITH: At that point is when I really started thinking about how the statute of limitations need to go away for this crime in Arkansas. My first step was to contact Senator Hickey.
JIMMY HICKEY: We understood that there was a problem with the law, and that needed to be changed.
MARC SMITH: Getting a bill that sounded good and that was fair and just was very difficult.
JIMMY HICKEY: There's no doubt in my mind that this bill would not have passed without the testimony of Matt and Marc Smith.
MATT SMITH: We told our entire story and it passed on the House floor unanimously, and four days later we were in front of the Governor, getting it signed.
DANITA ABERNATHY: Act 144 really changed the whole way that we can protect children in the state of Arkansas. There is no longer a limit on the time that they can actually tell what happened to them.
CONNER ELDRIDGE: That's a pretty tremendous gift that the Smith brothers have given to the State of Arkansas.
MATT SMITH: Engaging the community is what really drives both of us. The best way to empower a victim is being the ear that they tell, "This happened to me."
MARC SMITH: You know, to have somebody that you don't know that well come tell you something that they haven't told anybody before in their life is–is a special feeling.
CONNER ELDRIDGE: Because of their efforts, our laws in the state are–are forever changed, and we will have another tool to rid our state of these horrible sexual abuse crimes.
