FRANKFORT, KY — The U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Kentucky is reporting that a Frankfort man, Charles Crawford, 53, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison on Friday, by U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove, for production of child pornography.
According to his plea agreement, Crawford admitted that, on March 19, 2022, he was pulled over in a traffic stop because he was observed to have a minor sitting on his lap. During the stop, it was discovered that Crawford had a sexual device strapped to his leg and that he was under the influence of methamphetamine. A search of the car was then performed, which revealed methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and a digital camera. A search of the camera revealed three videos of Crawford sexually assaulting a minor victim.
Crawford pleaded guilty in January 2023.
Under federal law, Crawford must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence and will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for life. He was also ordered to pay restitution to his victim.
Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Rana Saoud, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigation; Daniel Cameron, Kentucky Attorney General; and Chief Dustin Bowman, Frankfort Police Department, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the HSI, the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office, and the Frankfort Police Department. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Roth.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov
-END-
