Maine man accused of July sexual assault in Colorado Springs

Allen Crabtree, 71, is in the El Paso County Jail for the alleged sexual assault of a Texas woman while both were Red Cross volunteers during the Waldo Canyon Fire.

Details from Colorado Springs police and court records are as follows:

The alleged victim was drinking with Crabtree and passed out while she was paying her bar tab. She woke up to find herself naked in Crabtree’s bed at the Clarion Hotel near Interstate 25 and Bijou Street. He was naked as well, and saying: “You’re so young.”

The woman tried to push Crabtree away but was too tired — more tired than she usually was after drinking, which led her to believe he had drugged her. She blacked out again and awoke in her room wearing only her underwear.

The woman woke the next morning to fly back to Austin, Texas, feeling pain consistent with sexual intercourse. The pain turned into an infection that required medication.

She later recorded a phone conversation between her and Crabtree in which he confessed to taking advantage of her while she was intoxicated. He denied sexually assaulting her, but confessed to kissing and fondling her. He doesn’t remember much else, he said, except for saying “we should have backed off.”

Colorado Springs police were notified of the case after the woman reported it to Austin police in August. She said she was initially deployed by the Red Cross from her Texas home, to assist families displaced by a wildfire in Fort Collins. She was teamed with Crabtree.

The woman reported that she actually met Mr. Crabtree prior to this deployment, during an annual training session. She said the training included people from all over the nation, and that many of them communicated via social media sites.

During this “call-out,” they would travel together by car to help families in need. After working in Fort Collins, they were asked by the Red Cross to come to Colorado Springs to assist families displaced by the Waldo Canyon Fire.

On July 7, Crabtree and the woman met a group of Red Cross workers at a restaurant for dinner and drinks. Following this, they went to an unknown bar for more drinks. Crabtree and the woman stayed at the bar while everyone else left for the evening.

Police tell KRDO NewsChannel 13 that once back at the hotel, the victim stated that she believed she may have been drugged and sexually assaulted by Crabtree.

After police in Colorado Springs, Texas and Maine investigated further, a warrant was issued for Crabtree for a Class Four Felony of Sexual Assault. He was arrested on this charge in Maine, and arrived at the El Paso County Jail on Friday afternoon.

Detectives said they don’t know if anyone else may have been victimized.

In response, Carrie Housman of the Red Cross released the following statement:

“The Red Cross is aware of the allegations surrounding this situation and the arrest of volunteer Allen Crabtree. Mr. Crabtree has been placed on leave from all of his Red Cross volunteer duties. Because this is both a personnel matter and an ongoing criminal investigation, we cannot go into further details. The Red Cross is cooperating with the authorities in this case and any additional questions should be directed to the Colorado Springs, Colorado Police Department.”

If anyone has information about this case, please call (719) 444-7000; or you may call Pikes Peak Area Crime Stoppers, Inc. at (719) 634-STOP (7867). You do not have to give your name and could earn a cash reward.