Crawford was bated by Steven McElyea in an FBI sting operation
New details surface after Rick Crawford has been found guilty of trying to pay the father of a 12 year old girl for sex with his fictional daughter
The case of Rick Crawford saw two days of testimony in the U.S. District Court in Orlando. The jury has found the former NASCAR driver guilty of enticing a minor for sexual activity.
60 year old, Richard H. Crawford, Jr. will face the penalty of a minimum 10 year prison sentence. However, he could serve life in prison.
Crawford engaged in online activity in search of sexual conduct. He used the website craigslist to seek out personal ads. For several weeks, he engaged with the man who was selling his fabricated 12 year old daughter for $50-75.
Note: Spelling and grammatical errors from the court documents will not be corrected. These are letter for letter, exactly how the communications read between Crawford and the officer.
Early communications read, “FYI 50yo taboo dad w 12yo daughter she’s into guys….i’m not she’s also accepts donations if this isn’t you then to no need to reply.”
Crawford responded. “Lets do it.”
Unknown to Crawford, the daughter never existed. Also unknown to Crawford, the man on the other end of the conversation was an undercover officer.
The man who posted the ad was an officer for the Seminole County Sheriff operating in an FBI sting operation. He gave Crawford several attempts to back out. He also made it very clear the fictitious girl was only 12 years old.
The officer set sex related rules and clearly stated the girl was underage, multiple times. The conversation from court documents detailed the conversation with Crawford. The officer stated, “no bareback…I don’t need to explain why my 12yo daughter is prego, NO anal…NO ruff stuff…and i get to watch.”
At several points, Crawford’s inquires went unanswered by the officer who was posing as the father of the 12-year-old. In many of those cases, Crawford reached out again to continue the conversation.
On February 19th, Crawford asked for a photo of the girl. The officer stated he would get back to him. Crawford reached out on February 23rd, it went unanswered. He then reached out again on February 26th.
The officer eventually sent a photo of a young girl. The photo was of a current female officer, the image was from her childhood.
Crawford added to his request, “Love for her to be naked and ready to give head. Then fuck.”
On February 28th, the officer responded, “she knows I have a friend who might be meeting us today for play so she’s good.”
Crawford then asked for yet another picture of the 12 year old. This time he used the word “sexy” with his request. Officer McElyea again complied with the request. He sent another old picture of the current female officer within his department.
The undercover officer informed Crawford that he and his fictional daughter would be parked in a restaurant parking lot in Lake Mary, Florida. Crawford parked his gold Chevy pickup next to the van. They rolled their windows down and began their first in person conversation after weeks of digital talks.
Officer: “shes naked in the back do you want to get out and see her?”
Crawford and the officer went to the back of the van. As soon as that happened, several officers appeared and Crawford was arrested with $80 and a condom in his pocket.
After the arrest, police searched the Chevy picked. They found two pills labeled, “Diamond Male Sexual Performance Enhancement.” In addition, Crawford came to the parking lot with adult DVD’s, a DVD player, massage oils, personal lubricant, disposable gloves and a sex toy.
Since the trial began, Crawford has stated that he didn’t really believe the girl would be 12 years old. He stated that if that was actually the case, he wouldn’t go through with it.
Upon the arrest, NASCAR reacted by removing Crawford from the possibility of sitting on an sporting penalty appeal hearings.
Crawford’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 26th.
You can read the full transcript of the online and texting communications between Crawford and the Officer here.
“This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse,” an official Department of Justice PR read.
“Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.”
“This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilianys Rivera Miranda,” the Justice PR continued.
Rick Crawford made 336 starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series over a 17 year career =. He collected 5 wins and 160 top-10 runs in a truck. Crawford also made 2 starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Crawford’s last win came in 2006 at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
More
Related: Trial of Rick Crawford delayed (May 2018)
Related: Here’s the initial report of the Rick Crawford arrest
Links
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