A 58-year-old Ocala man was jailed Wednesday after an 11-year-old girl told her mother during a “birds and the bees” talk that she had been sexually assaulted.
The victim was interviewed Wednesday at Kimberly’s Center for Child Protection in Ocala and while speaking with a case coordinator, she claimed that when she was seven years old, 58-year-old Thomas Vernon Crawford had rubbed her ankles while she was on a couch at his residence and he “grabbed her buttocks in the process of massaging her,” a sheriff’s office report states.
The victim also claimed that when she was 10 years old, she was sleeping on the couch at Crawford’s residence and “he began rubbing her lower leg and then worked his way up toward her private area a lot.” The victim said he then put his finger under her shorts and penetrated her with it, the report says.
It’s unclear if Crawford is related to the victim and her family or if he is a family friend. His address also has been redacted from the report.
A Marion County sheriff’s deputy also spoke with another victim who claimed that between the ages of eight and 18 she suffered similar sexual abuse by Crawford on numerous occasions, the report says.
Crawford told the deputy that he was aware of the allegations against him but claimed that he didn’t recall the incident the 11-year-old was talking about. He said she had been at his house about a month ago and had asked him for a back massage while she was on his couch. He said he started rubbing her back and she rolled over, causing his hand to land on her stomach area, the report says.
Crawford denied touching the victim’s vagina but at one point in the interview he said if something happened, he didn’t remember it. He also admitted to the incident where he was rubbing the victim’s ankles and said if he did touch her buttocks, it was not intentional, the report says.
Crawford was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail, where he was charged with sexual assault on a victim under 12 years of age. He is being held on $25,000 bond and is due in court Jan. 7 at 9 a.m. to answer to the charge.