ST. LOUIS – A federal grand jury indicted James Isaac “Ike” Crabtree, former Municipal Prosecuting Attorney for Jefferson County, Missouri, on April 20, 2022, for one count of Deprivation of Rights under Color of Law, and one count of False Statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) related to a March 8, 2021, incident.
Crabtree was the Municipal Prosecuting Attorney for Jefferson County, Missouri until he resigned his position during March 2022 as a result of the federal criminal investigation. The Indictment alleges that, on March 8, 2021, Crabtree met with a female in his courthouse office after regular business hours. At that time, the female, identified in the Indictment as “Victim One,” was a defendant in several pending cases being prosecuted by Crabtree in Jefferson County Municipal Court. The Indictment alleges that, during that meeting, Crabtree subjected Victim One to sexual contact while acting under color of law in his position as Municipal Prosecuting Attorney, thereby depriving Victim One of her Constitutional Right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law, which includes the right to bodily integrity. The Indictment further alleges that, on March 3, 2022, when interviewed by Special Agents of the FBI concerning the March 8, 2021, incident, Crabtree lied and falsely denied that he kissed Victim One, that he had touched Victim One’s body, and that he had Victim One take a portion of her clothing off during the meeting in his courthouse office. The Indictment alleges that Crabtree knew his statements to the FBI were false because Crabtree had taken those actions and engaged in that conduct.
Charges set forth in the indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Hal Goldsmith.