26-year-old sentenced for sexually abusing 6-year-old he was left to watch on JBLM
A man who molested a 6-year-old he was watching on Joint Base Lewis-McChord was sentenced Friday.
Charles Evan Crawford, 26, was convicted of abusive sexual contact of a child following a bench trial in July.
U.S. District Court Judge Ronald B. Leighton sentenced him to 10 years in prison and lifetime supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a press release.
Defense attorney Miriam Schwartz said in a statement to The News Tribune: “our client is autistic, intellectually challenged, and has been professionally evaluated as having the life skills of a pre-teen or young teenager. We are extremely concerned that he will be victimized in prison, and strongly disagree with Judge Leighton’s sentence.”
The abuse happened in June 2016 while Crawford’s stepfather was an active-duty soldier.
Crawford’s mother left Crawford, then 22, to watch the 6-year-old and other children at the JBLM duplex while she ran errands.
That’s when Crawford molested the 6-year-old.
The victim and other children told other adults what had happened, and Crawford was arrested the next day.
This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 11:52 AM.
