Floyd County man admits to rape of pre-teen-aged girl

By Doug Thompson

A 27-year-old Floyd man, in Circuit Court Tuesday, admitted sexually assaulting and raping a pre-teen-aged girl because he claimed the girls' father has slept with his girlfriend while he was in jail.
Joshua Lantz Cromer entered guilty pleas to charges of aggravated sexual battery and rape and will be sentenced on Sept. 14.
Two other charges -- for object sexual penetration and malicious wounding -- were dropped by Commonwealth's Attorney Stephanie Murray Shortt as part of a plea bargain with Cromer's attorney.
The charges stem from a Feb. 15 assault on the girl.
Shortt told Judge Ray W. Grubbs that Cromer, when confronted by the victim's father, said he raped the girl because he felt the father had sexual relations with his girlfriend while he was in jail on another charge. Floyd County Circuit Court records show Cromer was convicted of larceny in 2004 and driving while intoxicated, third offense, in 2009.
Shortt asked the court to set aside at least an hour for the sentencing hearing on Sept. 14 and also requested a victim impact report as part of the pre-sentencing review.
In other cases before Judge Grubbs on Tuesday:
--Clarence Dale Hall, 32, of Floyd ran out of second chances when the judge revoked his probation and sent him to jail for three years for multiple violations and problems. Hall said he had turned his life around and found help through drug counseling and religion, but Shortt argued that the transformation came only when he faced jail time. Grubbs agreed to sent him to prison to finish out his sentence;
--Grubbs deferred imposition of a one-year jail sentence for Dennis Terrell Fernando, 49, on drug possession and distribution charges to give the defendant a chance to enter and complete a diversion program. If Fernando completes the program he will avoid jail time but still faces probation for a suspended 10-year jail sentence on the three charges;
--The judge suspended imposition of a 10-year jail sentence for Renee Darlene Peters, 26, of Check, on two charges of forgery for using someone else's name to charge items on accounts at Floyd Xpress Mart and West End Market. in December of last year. He also placed Peters on probation;
--Grubbs suspended a 15-year jail sentence for Michael Avery Board, 25, of Check, who acted as a lookout during break-ins and robberies at D.J. Drive-In and a nearby residence in July of last year. Board was placed on probation and must make restitution;
--The judge also found a sobbing Ashley Ann Skiles of Christiansburg in violation of her probation on a December 2009 conviction of obtaining money under false pretenses and imposed the previously-suspended five-year sentence, then re-suspended four years, 11 months and deferred the remaining 30 days in jail if Skiles enters the Stepping Stone recovery program within 48 hours.