Crockett on sex offender registry

By JEFFREY SIMMONS/Staff

They met at the Chautauqua Festival.
He was 18; she was 13. According to court records, they smoked marijuana, drank some beers and had sex that June day in 1998.
The encounter left Stephen L. Crockett III with a felony conviction and a spot on the Virginia State Police sex offender registry.
Fast forward 10 years. Wytheville’s Chautauqua Festival was in full swing when police arrested the 28-year-old Ivanhoe man again on allegations related to an underage girl but not one he met at the annual event.
Charged with six felonies, including rape, Crockett’s next court date has been set for Aug. 19.
According to a search warrant, Crockett is accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old female. He’s facing charges of rape (two counts), animate object sexual penetration and permitting injury to a child while responsible for its care (three counts).
Police believe the girl got pregnant by Crockett and miscarried on June 28, the document said. She told investigators the abuse had been going on for three years.
Between his 1998 arrest and his current troubles with the law, Crockett faced another rape allegation.
According to court records, Crockett was arrested May 16, 2003, and charged with the Feb. 22, 2003, rape of a 17-year-old female.
In a court transcript, the girl said Crockett and another male sexually assaulted her after all three had been smoking pot and drinking alcohol.
When the case went to trial, though, the charge was reduced to contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Crockett pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor offense, and, in an agreement with the prosecutor, got a one-year suspended jail sentence and a year’s probation.
In his 1998 case, Crockett pleaded guilty to carnal knowledge of a minor for having unforced sexual intercourse with the 13-year-old.
“I know what I did was wrong…I didn’t know how old she was at the time, but that’s why you’re supposed to ask…” Crockett was quoted as saying in information in his court file. “I don’t have a sexual problem…I was just one of the unlucky ones.”
He also pleaded guilty to unrelated charges of grand larceny, statutory burglary and possession of stolen goods.
Along with getting a two-year jail sentence, Crockett was placed on probation for eight years.
He was convicted at least twice of violating the conditions of his probation, and court records show that his probation from the 1998 case expires on Aug. 20, 2009.
He’s scheduled to renew his sex offender registration on Aug. 14.
In the latest case, Crockett’s preliminary hearing will be held in Wythe County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. If a judge finds probable cause, he’ll send the charges to a grand jury for further consideration. If Crockett is indicted, he’ll then stand trial in Circuit Court.
Jeffrey Simmons can be reached at 228-6611 or .