Rick Crawford sentenced on the previous conviction of enticing a minor

Former NASCAR driver Rick Crawford was found guilty in August; Now, he’s been sentenced and fined

Crawford sentenced to 130 days in federal prison; 10 years of supervised release; $5,000 fine

Steven Mcelyea, an officer working undercover via an FBI sting operation enticed 60-year-old Rick Crawford via Craigslist over the course of a several week conversation.

Crawford is a former NASCAR driver who collected 336 starts in the truck series division over a 17 year time span. He won five NASCAR Truck Series races in his career.

Mcelyea, posing under the name Mike, posted a taboo sex ad on the online community website.

You can read the full transcript of the online and texting communications between Crawford and the Officer here.

Upon conversation, Mcelyea detailed that what he was offering was his 12 year old daughter for sexual activities. Photos of an underage girl were sent to Crawford, of which he requested more. Those photos were of a fellow officer from her childhood.

Crawford was negotiating payment between $50-75 for time with an underage girl.

The discussions begin in early February. Officer Mcelyea provided clear notices multiple times of what he was proposing. He was playing the role of a father offering his daughter for sex. He made that clear to Crawford many times. Despite days of inactivity from the man named ‘Mike’, Crawford continued to message to re-engage the conversation.

On February 28th, Crawford had arranged a face to face meeting with the man and his supposed daughter. The undercover officer asked if Crawford wanted to go into the back of the van and have a look at the daughter. As Crawford approached the back of the van, he was swarmed by police.

Crawford was arrested in the parking lot with $80 and a condom in his wallet.

Following the arrest, police also searched the Chevy pickup which Crawford drove to the scene. They discovered two pills labeled, ‘Diamond Male Sexual Performance Enhancement.’ In addition, Crawford came to the meeting point with adult DVD’s, a DVD player, massage oils, personal lubricant, disposable gloves and a sex toy.

Rick Crawford - Seminole County Sheriff
Rick Crawford (Photo: Seminole County Sheriff’s office)

Rick Crawford: Charges, conviction and sentencing

In August, Crawford was found guilty of enticing a minor for sexual activity. He has been held in jail since that conviction.

Since the trial began Crawford stated that he didn’t really believe the girl would be 12 years old. Ahead of the sentencing hearing, Crawford further detailed that statement explaining that it was a role play fantasy that the man on the other end of the craigslist communications was playing out.

A statement from his lawyer read:

“Mr. Crawford testified that he thought ‘Mike,’ the person he was corresponding with, was engaging in a fantasy and that he agreed to participate,” the filing states. “Mr. Crawford did not believe there would be a minor present; instead, he thought there would be an adult woman, presumably ‘Mike’s’ wife or girlfriend, and that he and this woman would act the roles in ‘Mike’s’ fantasy.”

“Mr. Crawford consistently maintained that he had no intent to have sex with a minor, and if a minor had been present, he would not have had sex with the minor.”

Sentencing: Crawford will spend the next 130 days in federal prison. Upon release, he will have an additional 10 years of supervised release. In addition, he has also been fined $5,000.

Judge Roy B. Dalton Jr. issued the ruling.

More

Rick Crawford: Guilty (August 2018)

Trial of Rick Crawford delayed (May 2018)

Here’s the initial report of the Rick Crawford arrest

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