Jury Convicts Child Molester

A sentence of up to 50 years awaits a Milan man convicted of child molesting.

Dustin B. Crabtree. Photo by Ripley County Sheriff's Office.

(Ripley County, Ind.) - A Milan man has been convicted of the most serious form of Child Molesting.

Dustin B. Crabtree, 32, was convicted July 29 by a Ripley County jury last week on a level 1 felony count of Child Molesting.

He was arrested this past March following an investigation which began in January.

The Osgood Journal reports that the victim, who was four-years-old at the time of the crime, had to testify in court during the trial. A forensic interviewer and Indiana State Police detectives also testified, but Crabtree did not take the stand in his own defense.

Crabtree faces between 20 and 50 years when he is sentenced August 23 in Ripley County Circuit Court.

Crabtree was charged with five counts of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Serious Violent Felony (level 4 felony) at the time of his arrest for child molesting – he had been convicted of burglary in 2006. Those gun charges were split into a separate court case in July. A pretrial conference is scheduled for August 23.

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Milan Man Arrested For Child Molesting

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