Victim, 18, says local barber sexually assaulted her over 9-year period
By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
An Escambia County barber is free on bond this week after his August 16 arrest on charges he subjected a local girl to sexual abuse from the time she was 6 years old until she was 15.
Joe L. Craft, 57, who has owned and operated Craft Barber Shop for the past 30 years, was arrested on charges of first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy and sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12 after an investigation into concerns from the victim’s mother.
According to court documents and published reports, the victim, now 18, told an investigator with Child Advocacy Center during a forensic interview that Craft began taking sexual liberties with her when she was “about 6 or 7.” The abuse continued on a fairly regular basis for most of nine years, she said.
The victim told investigators the sexual contact occurred at several different places and that she “sometimes told him to stop, and sometimes didn’t.” Published reports indicate the girl’s mother became suspicious when she walked into a room and saw Craft quickly toss a pair of her daughter’s panties aside. She also noticed “mood changes” in her daughter during the time the abuse was reportedly ongoing.
A county detective said during a bond hearing for Craft that the initial report was filed July 26 with Atmore police. When it was determined that the alleged abuse happened outside their jurisdiction, city police turned the case over to sheriff’s investigators.
First-degree rape and first-degree sodomy are Class A felonies, punishable upon conviction by a sentence of 10-99 years at “hard labor” on each charge, along with — at a judge’s discretion — a fine of up to $60,000 on each charge. Sexual abuse of a child 12 years old or younger is a Class B felony that is punishable upon conviction by a sentence of 2-20 years, along with a possible fine of up to $30,000.
According to information provided by the office of Escambia County Clerk of Court John Robert Fountain, Craft was released from jail August 22 after someone posted a $300,000 bond on his behalf.
An online search didn’t turn up any evidence that Craft had committed or been accused of committing similar crimes in the past, and his wife of about a year told investigators she had “never had any problem” resulting from interactions between her 7-year-old daughter and Craft.
Although the child rape suspect has no prior record of sexual misconduct, he was charged in September 2015 with attempted murder after he reportedly used a rifle to rob a local man of a large amount of money, then shot at the man as he tried to run away.
In January 2019 he was allowed to plead guilty to reckless endangerment in settlement of that case.