PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) – On Tuesday, the Hoot Crawford trial ended after two hours of jury deliberations.
Crawford was already in court in May 2022 for interference with custody.
“Point one: The defendant is guilty as charged for interfering with the custody of the child. Point two: The defendant is guilty of manipulating a witness or victim.”
The jury decided that Crawford was in the wrong when he left the Child Advocacy Center on May 6, 2022, with a young girl he was representing in the sexual assault case.
FHP recovers car believed to have been used in hit-and-run from Apalachicola River
Prosecutors say Crawford also tried to convince his client to lie about the sexual assault allegations, claiming she made it up.
“He tried to get her to say something untruthful by trying to get her to say it didn't happen, and he tried to get her to withhold her statement by constantly talking about her and “Didn't let her speak,” prosecutor Frank Sullivan said.
Crawford's defense attorney, Don Pumphrey, claims Crawford did not ask his client to lie and left the CAC with the girl to protect her.
Pumphrey says the victim should never have been taken away from her family in the first place.
“When does the government think it knows better than parents? “When does the government think it knows better than the children’s own families?” said Don Pumphrey.
Crawford was approached by a Department of Children and Families employee in the CAC parking lot and said his client was in state custody, but he still left the child behind.
“She is in state custody,” Christine Revels said. “I very kindly ask you to instruct a judge to order this. “I’ll be in my office, she’ll be with me,” Crawford said.
Pumphrey says law enforcement should be more concerned with the girl's attacker and not Crawford.
Decommissioned research vessel converted into a reef
“If your true goal is to protect this child, why would you tear him away from his family? “Why don’t you get to the root of the problem and do your job?” Pumphrey said.
But the state still proved Crawford guilty of his crimes.
“I grant you that there is no doubt that he did both, and I ask that you find the defendant guilty as charged,” Sullivan said.
Crawford faces up to 10 years in prison, but prosecutors say they are not seeking prison time for Crawford.
Crawford is currently out on bail with his sentencing scheduled for April 16.
Comments are closed.