ELBE, Wash. — A man who repeatedly raped a 90-year-old woman he was supposed to be taking care of at her home near Elbe was sentenced Wednesday.
James William Crowder Jr., 53, pleaded guilty to third-degree rape last month as part of negotiations with prosecutors.
Pierce County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Arend told Crowder she had little choice when determining his sentence.
According to state law, his low-end, high-end and maximum sentence for the crime all were five years, which is what Arend gave him.
But the judge noted the victim was a "particularly vulnerable 90-year-old woman," and told Crowder, "If I had discretion, I would be sentencing you to more than five years."
He declined to address the court at sentencing.
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Defense attorney Travis Currie indicated to the judge that Crowder has a drug or alcohol problem that might have contributed to the crime.
According to charging papers:
The woman ended up at the Elbe fire station Sept. 15, 2016, after she had shortness of breath and pain in her limbs. She told emergency personnel her live-in caretaker had raped her repeatedly.
The woman told investigators she was friends with Crowder's aunt, and that she'd let him move in after he was released from jail.
He sometimes sexually assaulted her as he helped her around the house, and neglected to fill her medications for about two weeks, she said.
She said the abuse started days after he moved in, in September 2016.
Crowder wrote in his plea statement that he had sex with the woman for two weeks in September 2016.
He has previous convictions for incest and child molestation.