A husband and wife from New York pleaded guilty Friday to sexually abusing and filming a 17-month-old girl in a case where the judge called their actions “barbaric.”
Fox News reports that Jessica and Justin Crandall both pleaded guilty to felony counts of sexual exploitation of a child, and Jessica also pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in connection with the incident.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the couple babysat the toddler during the day from November 2016 around Thanksgiving to February 11, 2017, at their home in Sidney in upstate New York.
Prosecutors said Justin Crandall, 28, took photos and video of himself sexually abusing the child.
Someone alerted the authorities in February after receiving an image from Justin Crandall of a female toddler involved in a sex act, court documents show.
The child’s mother told investigators she noticed a change in her child’s behavior and discovered unexplained injuries on the girl’s body.
The Press & Sun-Bulletin reported that Justin Crandall’s abuse of the 17-month-old victim had been connected to his abuse of methamphetamine.
Jessica Crandall, 27, told authorities that she and her husband took part in “repeated sexual activities” with the child, according to court documents.
U.S. Magistrate Judge David Peebles called their crimes “barbaric acts” at a detention hearing in April.
The Crandalls face a minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years. A judge will sentence them February 23 in a federal court in Binghamton.
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