A former Jefferson County municipal prosecuting attorney’s license to practice law in Missouri has been revoked.
The Missouri Supreme Court reported on May 2 that James Isaac “Ike” Crabtree has been disbarred.
Crabtree, 40, of Crystal City, whose license to practice had been suspended on March 7, was sentenced on Feb. 7 to 18 months in prison for pressuring a woman he was prosecuting into having sex and then lying about the incident to the FBI. He also was ordered to pay for counseling for the victim, court records show.
He pleaded guilty Aug. 18, 2022, to a felony charge for lying to FBI agents investigating the case and to a misdemeanor civil rights charge for deprivation of rights under the color of law, according to court documents.
According to sentencing documents, Crabtree summoned the victim to his office in the Jefferson County Justice Center after hours in March 2021 under the guise of helping her with pending court cases. He then offered her alcohol and prescription drugs and asked her if she was wearing a wire. The woman told him she was not wearing a wire, but she used her cell phone to record the encounter.
The sentencing documents also said Crabtree met with the woman at various locations in Jefferson County, where he forced her to sit on his lap while he kissed her. He also had a sexual encounter with the woman at a bed and breakfast and asked her to send him nude pictures.
The woman said Crabtree stalked her and showed up at her place of work, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
In March 2022, Crabtree was questioned by FBI agents about the encounter at his office, and he repeatedly lied about what happened, the report said.
Crabtree resigned from his position as the county’s municipal prosecuting attorney on March 15, 2022. He had held that job since Feb. 23, 2015, and was being paid an $81,226.92 annual salary.
The Jefferson County Municipal Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is separate from the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which is in the Jefferson County Courthouse in Hillsboro.
Crabtree was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 20, 2022.