Former NASCAR driver indicted for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity

Orlando, Florida – A grand jury has returned an indictment charging Richard Hoyt Crawford, Jr. (59, Port Orange) with attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. If convicted, he faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Crawford that the United States intends to forfeit an iPhone, which was used in furtherance of the offense.

According to court documents, between February 10 and February 28, 2018, Crawford engaged in email and text communications with an undercover agent acting as the father of a 12-year-old girl. Crawford asked the “father” for a photo of the “child” and negotiated a price to have sex with her. He offered to pay between $50 and $75 for the sexual encounter and asked that the “girl” be nude in the back of the “father’s” car and ready for sexual activity. On February 28, 2018, Crawford traveled from Port Orange to Seminole County to meet the “child,” and was arrested by federal agents. 

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilianys Rivera Miranda.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.