Lafayette Remoine Crutchfield, 44 of La Plata
UPDATE 5/8/2018: On Tuesday, May 8, 2018, Charles County Circuit Court Judge H. James West sentenced Lafayette Remoine Crutchfield, 44 of La Plata, to 48 years in prison for Sexual Abuse of a Minor, Sexual Offense in the Second Degree, and Sexual Offense in the Third Degree.
Tony Covington, State’s Attorney, commenting on the Crutchfield’s sentence said, “The Court’s sentence means this predator is going to a place where he belongs, a place where he can’t abuse little girls, a place where he hopefully will stay for the rest of his natural life.”
On January 13, 2017, Detective Kristen Gross with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office and a social worker from the Department of Social Services met with the victim, who was under the age of 14, at her school after receiving a mandated report of sexual abuse. During the meeting, the victim confirmed she was sexually assaulted by Crutchfield.
The victim later reported the incident to a friend, who encouraged the victim to notify a teacher at her school. The victim did so.
A further investigation revealed there were times prior to November 25, 2016 in which the Defendant had inappropriate contact with the victim in her bedroom. Each time the Defendant apologized to the victim.
On February 27, 2018, a Charles County jury convicted Crutchfield of the above listed charges after a two day trial.
In 1999, Crutchfield pled guilty and was convicted of Child Abuse in Montgomery County, Maryland.
During sentencing, Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah Freeman told the judge, “He honed in on this victim. She didn’t have a father figure in her life; he knew that. He took advantage of that need and vulnerability. — I ask that the court take into consideration his prior child sexual abuse conviction, Dr. Grant’s assessment and his likelihood to re-offend.”
Before sentencing Crutchfield to 48 years, Judge West told the Defendant, “You have two offenses of the same nature where the victims are both people who trusted you. Both victims were 12. I don’t want to take the chance of another 12-year-old being victimized in this way. This is alarming and a serious problem. This is a 12-year-old looking for a father figure and you exploited your position of trust. The planning, the predatorial nature, the prior child sex offense…the level of harm is excessive. This is an above the guidelines case…for sure.”
3/2/2018: On Tuesday, February 27, 2018, after two days of trial and less than 30 minutes of deliberations, a Charles County jury convicted Lafayette Remoine Crutchfield, 44 of La Plata, of Sexual Abuse of a Minor, Sexual Offense in the Second Degree, and two counts of Sexual Offense in the Third Degree.
On January 13, 2017, Detective Kristen Gross with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office and a social worker from the Department of Social Services met with the victim, who is under the age of 14, at her school after receiving a mandated report of sexual abuse. During the meeting, the victim confirmed she was sexually assaulted by Crutchfield.
An investigation revealed that on November 25, 2016, Crutchfield sent the victim a text message asking to cuddle with her. After sending the message, Crutchfield entered the victim’s bedroom and sexually assaulted her. The victim’s account of the abuse was corroborated by text messages sent to her cellular device by Crutchfield. The text messages go back in time to April 2016 when the Defendant started to groom the victim.
Lafayette Remoine Crutchfield, 44 of La Plata
The victim later reported the incident to a friend, who encouraged the victim to notify a teacher at her school. The victim did so.
During closing argument, Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah Freeman told the jury, “the Defendant preyed on the victim’s need to have a father in her life; he pretended to support and care for her simply to fulfill his own twisted sexual desires”. The text messages revealed there were times prior to November 25, 2016 in which the Defendant had inappropriate contact with the victim in her bedroom. Each time the Defendant apologized to the victim.
In 1999, Crutchfield plead guilty and was convicted of Child Abuse in Montgomery County, Maryland. Based on the jury’s findings of guilt in Charles County and his prior conviction, Crutchfield is facing a possibility of Life imprisonment. A sentencing date has been set for April 10, 2018.
