Georgetown County Sheriff Lane Cribb said Thursday he cannot discuss whether a former deputy will be allowed to return to his job after being found “not guilty” of sex abuse charges this week.

It took a jury less than two hours Wednesday to clear Ron Christopher Crabtree, 36, of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old female relative in 2007.

It was those accusations that cost him his job at the County Sheriff’s Office when he was arrested last year.

After Crabtree was cleared of the charges, he was asked if he would return to work if the job was offered.

“I will take [my job] back in a minute, but that is their discretion,” he said.

On Thursday, the Georgetown Times tried to speak with Cribb about Crabtree’s job.

“I cannot discuss administrative personnel issues like that,” Cribb said.

The accusations

Crabtree’s troubles began when the teen said he touched her inappropriately inside the Pawleys Island home she was living in at the time.

She told the jury the incidents continued for months and increased in intensity until Crabtree raped her.

She said the incidents happened over a period of about seven months and always occurred on a love seat in the TV room inside the home.

The trial

The outcome of the case hinged on who the jury believed more, Crabtree or the teenager.

That’s because there was no physical evidence to be collected once the allegations were made by the girl.

There were also no eyewitnesses to call to the stand.

During her closing argument, Assistant Solicitor Nancy Livesay addressed both issues.

“There is never any physical evidence when a man touches a child inappropriately,” she said.

She also said criminals do not commit crimes in front of anyone, especially sex crimes.

Crabtree’s attorney, Reuben Goude noted the time gap between the time the alleged acts took place and the time the teen told anyone.

It was also said during the trial when DSS talked to the girl she denied being assaulted by Crabtree but later told a SLED agent she had been touched.

Dr. Melissa Muse, a licensed counselor who deals with sex abuse cases, testified on behalf of the state.

She said it’s “very common” for there to be a delay between the time a child is assaulted and the time they tell anyone.

She also said in most cases children retract their stories after the crime is reported because they want to protect their family or do not want to go to court.

The doctor also said a 'perpetrator' sometimes "grooms" a child by doing things such as pretending to be asleep and "accidentally" touching the child.

That is one thing the teen said happened to her when the alleged acts began.

During cross examination by Goude, the doctor said she has never counseled anyone involved in this case.

The girl never told anyone she was actually raped by Crabtree until her father told her he was sending her to Planned Parenthood to be checked out. Goude told the jury she did not want her father to find out she was having sex with her boyfriend so she made up the rape story.

The defense also brought up some mental issues the teenager had in the years prior to the alleged incidents.

While on the stand Crabtree said required counseling in 2005 because she was hearing voices and was "seeing bad things." He said she had been "making up stories, got caught in lies" and was stealing from her school.

The teen testified at one time a voice told her she should kill her mother.

The defense called three character witnesses to the stand who all have known Crabtree for several years.

They each testified he is an honest person the jury could believe. Goude said the jury did what the judge told them to do which was to take note of what those witnesses had to say.

Both Crabtree and his accuser were in tears after the verdict was announced.  The teenager was sobbing as she was comforted and escorted from the courtroom by her mother.

 After the trial Crabtree said he wanted to thank his “friends, family and co-workers” who supported him since his troubles began.

By Scott Harper

sharper@gtowntimes.com