A former Indiana youth pastor confessed to police he sexually abused a 14-year-old girl in his church office for several years, according to court records.
Bryan Crabtree, 35, of Sulphur Springs, is charged in Henry County Circuit Court with sexual misconduct with a minor and three counts of child solicitation.
Records obtained by The Roys Report (TRR) shows an anonymous letter to Sulphur Springs Christian Church Pastor Buskirk tipped off church leaders to the alleged sexual misconduct.
Crabtree has since been fired from the church, according to an eight-page probable cause affidavit filed June 26.
The teen told authorities the alleged sexual abuse occurred between Oct. 1 to Jan. 31, 2022, according to the charging document filed June 25.
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The abuse happened at the church and Crabtree’s house, court records show.
Crabtree, also a cross-country coach and substitute teacher at Shenandoah High School, met the teen when she was a freshman, and he was her running coach, court records show.
Investigators say the former youth pastor started sending the 14-year-old student nude photographs and videos and ask her to do the same. Crabtree also created “to-do lists” telling her to send “pictures/videos of a sexual nature.”
The abuse later escalated to sexual abuse, the affidavit states.
The teen produced copies of the text messages confirming the “to do lists,” the affidavit states.
The victim refused to have sexual intercourse with the Crabtree. However, the former youth pastor told police he would have had intercourse with the teen if she had offered, according to court records.
After being confronted by police, Crabtree told Indiana investigators he knew his actions would become known saying, “he knew this would come out at some point,” the affidavit states. He also reportedly said he “knew it was wrong, but was attracted to her and he didn’t stop it.”
Crabtree said he was drawn to the teen because “she was beautiful” and he and his wife were “not being intimate” and he needed someone “to talk to or confide in,” the affidavit states.
The alleged sexual abuse continued until the teen entered college.
Crabtree’s is scheduled to return to court on July 1, online records show.
Additional charges may be filed against Crabtree, court records show.
Sheila Stogsdill is a freelance print journalist and digital reporter, primarily covering crime issues for KSN/KODE.
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But whoso shall cause one of these little ones who believe in Me to fall, it were better for him that a millstone were hung about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:6