A Jefferson County official is going to prison after he was outed for taking advantage of a woman who was asking for help with traffic tickets.
40-year-old James "Ike" Crabtree was given 18 months. Last year, a video was released showing him asking for sexual favors from a woman who came to him for help. The woman had recorded the whole meeting on her cell phone, which ended up making her case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith tells KMOX that Crabtree was corrupt.
"When someone like this, in that position of power, uses his position to coerce this young woman, this victim into that sexual contact, basically sexually molested her, they should be held accountable," he said. "Prosecuting attorneys have a special role in our society; they're charged with upholding the rule of law. We count on them to do that. They're Also charged with ensuring victims' rights and they're supposed to advocate zealously for victims' rights."
The original incident occurred in March of 2021. During the meeting, Crabtree offered the woman alcohol and prescription drugs, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. When the woman told Crabtree that she wasn't a prostitute and wouldn't have sex with him, he mentioned her two children, which she took as a threat. She said she went along with his advances "out of fear."
In the video, Crabtree asks the woman if she's wearing a wire. He then says they can probably try to "work something out." He then is seen kissing her and asking her to take her clothes off. He originally faced up to six years in prison and up to $350,000 in fines.
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