Convicted Rapist Wants Life Term Tossed

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

A Springdale man given a life sentence for raping a 14-year-old boy wants his conviction and sentence overturned.

Anthony O. Craigg, 39, contends his attorneys were ineffective at trial and should have objected to a 1997 Oklahoma conviction for lewd molestation the prosecution entered as evidence at trial.

Craigg said the circumstances of the two cases were very different. The victim in the Oklahoma case, for example, was a 4-year-old girl.

Kao Lee and Gregg Parrish, both deputy public defenders, said they did object and an entire pretrial hearing was dedicated to the admissibility of the prior conviction. At the conclusion of that hearing, Washington County Circuit Judge William Storey allowed the Oklahoma conviction to be used as evidence.

Craigg maintained his innocence Monday.

“I got a life sentence for a crime I didn’t commit,” Craigg told Storey.

The jury that convicted Craigg in December 2011 was so convinced of his guilt they took 15 minutes to find him guilty of rape and another 10 minutes to recommend he spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Craigg was convicted of performing oral sex on the teenager during an impromptu camp out near Pump Station Road in south Fayetteville. The teen testified he woke up to find Craigg performing the act and pushed Craigg away before grabbing a flashlight and his shoes and running about 300 yards to a house where the homeowner let him call police.

The teen said he took Craigg’s wallet in order to provide police with identification of Craigg because he only knew the man’s first name.

Craigg fled the area on the teen’s scooter but police found him nearby, hiding behind a tree.

Craigg had also failed to keep law enforcement updated on his address as is required of convicted sexual offenders.