Colusa man faces 10 years' prison for molesting child

Frank Crawshaw appeared in Colusa County Superior Court on Wednesday when Judge Betsy Olivera set May 2 for sentencing.

Crawshaw was convicted on Jan. 19 on felony charges of committing a lewd and lascivious act on a child under 14 and one count of foreign penetration of a child, court records state.

The 61-year-old Crawshaw knew his victim.

"They had a close relationship and he took advantage of it," Colusa County Deputy District Attorney Brendan Farrell said.

"It was a single incident that we know," said Farrell.

Crawshaw was arrested Nov. 18, 2010, just hours after the investigation had started the night before, the Colusa County Sheriff's Department said.

Investigators had been called to an Orange Avenue home on the report of a rape.

Crawshaw remains free on bail until sentencing.

Farrell said Crawshaw is not considered a flight risk, the primary factor in determining whether someone should be free until sentencing.

"I wouldn't say that it is unusual," Farrell said.

He said the sentencing will start the punishment phase of the process.

The sentencing options for the judge to consider is four, six or eight years on the first felony count, then as much as a third of the middle term, in this case two of the six years, on the second felony, Farrell explained.