Republic Man Pleads Guilty to Transporting Minors for Sex, Faces at Least 10 Years in Prison

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Republic, Missouri, truck driver pleaded guilty in federal court today to transporting two Missouri teenagers across state lines and sexually assaulting them.

Cleveland Lee Crumsey, 37, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of transporting a minor across state lines to engage in criminal sexual activity.

By pleading guilty today, Crumsey admitted that he transported two child victims across state lines from Missouri to Iowa in his truck. Crumsey also admitted that he had sexual intercourse with both of the child victims.

Under federal statutes, Crumsey is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Monett, Mo., Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Fremont County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Department. 

Project Safe Childhood
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 the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."