CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A former Caldwell County pastor who was arrested in 2023 on charges of possessing child pornography has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and a lifetime of supervision after his release.
Ashley James Crouse, 53, of Granite Falls, N.C., was sentenced to 120 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for possession and receipt of child sexual abuse material, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina announced on Thursday, Feb. 13. Crouse was also ordered to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.
Crouse was arrested in November 2023 following an investigation based on a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that came in April 2023. The tip said that a Dropbox account user had uploaded videos containing child sexual abuse material. Investigators determined that the Dropbox account user was Crouse.
On Nov. 3, 2023, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Crouse’s residence and at New Vision Baptist Fellowship in Granite Falls, where Crouse was serving as pastor at the time. During the search, detectives seized a computer tower, an iPad and two USB drives from Crouse’s office at the church.
Investigators said Crouse admitted to law enforcement that he had been downloading and collecting child pornography for five to six years and that he viewed the material while working at the church. The investigation determined that Crouse routinely used his computer at the church to access, view and download child sexual abuse material.
Cross was terminated as pastor of New Vision Baptist Fellowship following his arrest, a church leader told the Biblical Recorder at the time.
A forensic examination of Crouse’s church computer and other digital devices revealed that he shared child pornography and links to child pornography electronically and that he had used AI and a software program to create pornographic material. In total, Crouse possessed over 1,200 videos and 450 images depicting the sexual abuse of children.
Investigators also found a book maintained by Crouch on the church computer that outlined in detail how to sexually abuse children.
On Aug. 21, 2024, Crouse pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography involving a minor under age 12 and receipt of child pornography. He remains in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a facility.
