Former Lisbon resident going to trial over teen sex assault allegations
Former Lisbon resident Douglas R. Crossley Jr., who is accused of sexually assaulting five underage girls at his one-time home at 23 Lee Road, is going on trial in New London Superior Court.
Jury selection began Monday before Judge Barbara Bailey Jongbloed. The trial is scheduled to begin July 17 with a jury of six regular members and two alternates.
Crossley, 40, of Mechanicsville, Va., has pleaded not guilty to five counts of risk of injury to a minor and one count of first-degree sexual assault. In taking the case to trial, he turned down an offer from prosecutor Theresa Anne Ferryman to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of six months in prison, followed by five years of probation and registration as a sexual offender.
Crossley has been free on a $150,000 bond since he was arrested in February 2016. He is represented by attorney Max Simmons of New Haven and attorney Thomas Pavlinic of Annapolis, Md., who specializes in defending people accused of sex crimes.
The alleged assaults took place between 2005 and 2010, when Crossley, who has children of his own, hosted sleepovers. He and his wife, Danay, also hosted monthly get-togethers.
Crossley is accused of "having contact with the intimate parts" of the girls and of engaging in sexual intercourse with one of them when she was physically helpless.
The girls told investigators Crossley watched them while they were showering, climbed in bed with them, provided them a prescription anxiety drug and alcohol or sent inappropriate text and Facebook messages.
