The pastor of a Redding-area church who was accused of child molestation has apparently taken a plea deal that’ll keep him out of jail. 55-year-old James Gladwell Crawford was arrested February 2nd. His charges included 22 felony counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child. Crawford was the pastor of “Westside Church”, which is off Swasey Drive west of Redding. Congregation members crowded into his initial court appearances to show their support, and his One Million Dollar bail was posted 8 days after his arrest. Crawford was accused of inappropriately touching three young girls over the course of seven years. He had faced possible life in prison if convicted, with a trial set to begin in January. According to an article in the Record Searchlight by Jim Schultz, a plea deal was reached and Monday Crawford entered no contest pleas to three child endangerment related misdemeanors. He was given four years probation.
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