Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Disturbing Details Drop in Ohio Mom's Sex Crimes Case

Episode Date: August 28, 2026

Erica Grove, 43, is a decorated military veteran, a nurse and a mother. She spent the week on trial in Warren County, Ohio, for serious sex crimes involving sexual abuse of a young girl. Grove pleaded guilty to misdemeanors related to her having sex with dogs with her boyfriend, ex-reality tv star, Tony McCollister. Grove's attorney argued at her trial that tex messages discussing sex with the child were simply a fantasy. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy goes through the details in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5CRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Van DinhGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We look at the dog behavior, which we know there's 23 videos of the defendant and McAllister having sex with dogs. A nurse on trial for horrific allegations of sexual abuse involving her ex-reality star boyfriend and a little girl. But do the claims of sexual abuse have actual evidence? Baby, I really want to watch you lick. This was not in my presentation, but since he brought it up, this is all fantasy, make-believe, morally depraved. but not criminal. Who wants to think that any human being is capable of doing those things to a child? We're going through the trial of Erica Grove. I'm Anjanette Levy and this is crime fix. Erica Grove is a mother. She's a military veteran. She is a trained nurse anesthetist and this week,

Erica Grove spent days on trial for sex crimes involving a child and her now ex-boyfriend, former reality TV star Tony McAllister. Now I've been telling you about, about this case for nearly a year now. Back in December of 2025, detectives went to Groves home in Warren County, Ohio, armed with a search warrant. The detectives went looking

for child sex abuse material and Tony McAllister was the prime suspect, but Erica Grove was also detained. Sounds good. Hey, Benz. I'm gonna take those flex, those black cuffs off, be okay? So if you wanna step out,

I'll cut them off, be okay. Okay. turn around and boost the car. You get something to get those on? Knife. I don't know if that's where we're going to work. Here, take off the cups first. I don't think Eric is going to be any issues.

We're just trying to make you a little more comfortable, Eric. I just think that's your father, I'll be able to speak with that. Well, you just kind of hang out with that gentleman there. We're waiting on someone to escort them and use the bathroom. Is your knife sharp enough to cut this? You'll have a gerber deal. Fast forward to January 2026.

Grove became a suspect and then a defendant. She was taken into custody and charged with a long list of felonies, including rape, corrupting another with drugs, child endangering, gross sexual imposition, and misdemeanor counts of sexual conduct with an animal. Erica Grove pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, and she opted for a bench trial, meaning a judge would decide her fate, not a jury. On the first day of her trial, Erica Grove decided to plead guilty to some of the charges. Any questions about your constitutional rights? No, Your Honor. All right. What is your plea to counts 21, 22, 23, and 24 sexual conduct with an animal? Guilty, Your Honor. Accept your plea. Find this to be a knowing and voluntary waiver of constitutional rights. enter a plea of guilty.

We'll reset the matter for disposition at a later date. Also order a pre-sentence investigation. So she pleaded guilty, admitted to having sex with the dogs. Then it was time for the trial on the remaining charges related to the child and allegations of sex crimes to begin. It is a mother's duty. It is a mother's obligation to ensure and protect their young child. especially a young child from three to five years old.

And that's what they know. It's their mother, the home that they go to every day, where they lie their head, where they go to sleep. Is that child grows older? It's that mother's obligation to teach that child about safe touches, about body safety, about boundaries within their body. This defendant failed, and every one of those obligations.

And it started, especially started, when she invited Tony McAllister into her home, a relationship that began in March of 2023. March 2020. The defendant invited ultimately Tony McAllister into her home. She and Tony McAllister joined up together and got a home themselves on Lavender Way. The defendant knew fully well who Tony McAllister was when she started that relationship.

You're going to see that she was aware of his behaviors, that she was interested in them, from a sexual standpoint, that she encouraged them. Their relationship was tumultuous from the very beginning. It involved coming and going as far as arguments over and over again. But it was also very clear that about nine months or over that first nine months their relationship when Tony McAllister thought that they were having at least in the beginning a monogamous relationship, although talking about behaviors that they would involve other people in. The defendant betrayed that trust and engaged in multiple affairs, causing a rift.

between the two of them, that ultimately resulted in the very dangerous and criminal behaviors that this defendant engaged in. Up next was the defense. Your Honor, I will be the first to admit that the text messages in this case are morally to pray. Thankfully, we know that the text messages are false. We know they didn't happen. And this is what you're going to hear in this case.

This is, every time you see Gray, Your Honor, on these text messages, and this is part of the reciprocal discovery, we've agreed to the authenticity of these. That's from Tony McAllister. And when you see Blue, it's Erica. We see early on when neither one of these two know that they're going to ever be in court one day, he's telling her to lie, to go with the fantasy and text message. He says he wants her to make fake things up that she's done. Lying is required.

He's telling her this back in 2024, two years ago, almost of the day. So he's telling her to, and I just pulled out a couple examples, but this is a common thread through 8,200 pages of text messages between these two. McAllister is telling her, tell me things that are absurd, horrific, his fantasies, but lie about. tell me things that you do even if they're fake. The theme of the defense throughout this trial was very simple. The conduct and messages between Tony McAllister and Erica Grove was depraved, disgusting. But the text, the defense claims, were fake, a fantasy. And remember, the defense is playing to a jury of one, Judge Robert Peeler, not a jury of 12 men and women. Erica Grove's defense

attorney, Charlie Rickers, painted Tony McAllister as a manipulative, abusive. monster who actually beat Erica Grove. Again, he said the thousands and thousands of text messages are fake. And I tell you this because I have a suspicion that they're going to try to act as if this isn't really the heart of the case. But they're going to, it does matter. This manipulative coercion in these fake texts. So here's another one where she steps out a role in the fantasy accidentally. He's saying, you triggered me when you said that I needed a nap. Calls her we're saying hey you need a nap you triggered me

can I schedule you daddy time soon he gets mad at her this one time he wants her to videotape he sets it up he does all these talks he gets on these weird chat forums and finds an older man who's in his late 50s and he wants them to do all this taping

and sends Erica over there for a second time actually and they don't videotape anything or take any pictures that Erica actually told this gentleman hey, I don't like doing this. This is for this guy, McCallister, just talking. And he said, well, then we don't have to do anything. Nice gentleman. And they don't. And he's mad. McCallister is furious. He doesn't know what I just told you, but he knows that no photographs or videos were taken. What he's saying here? Can I schedule you your daddy time soon? Detective Rick Benz of the Warren County Sheriff's Office testified about what a search warrant from Google revealed early in the investigation. Yes, there were images of Mr. McCulles' and other people, family members, friends, which clearly identified him as the owner in that aspect. There were a large quantity of videos of adults engaging in sexual activities.

There were videos of adults just naked pictures of them. There were videos of adults engaging in sexual conduct with animals. Let's speak about the, were there videos recovered from that showing Tony, who you identified as Tony McAllister engaged in sexual behaviors or sexual conduct with dogs? Yes. Did you also uncover videos showing anyone else involved with Tony McAllister and sexual conduct with dogs? Yes, there was a female.

Were you aware of who that person was? the time when you first saw these videos? No. You have now learned who that is, correct? Correct. Who was that? Who is that? Erica Grove.

Do you see her in the courtroom? Yes. You just identify what she's wearing for us, please? Brown jacket. Detective Benz and another detective interviewed Erica Grove. That interview was played for the judge. Did you ever suspect him downed job owner? No.

No. No. The only stuff that I've seen, I know he has like fantasies, with like young boys and it's all been fantasy to my knowledge and whatever I like he's sometimes sent stuff and it's all been AI is what he said so okay how old did they look I don't know I mean does it look like teenagers or adults like teenagers but they were like AI images he says they're AI or do you know that they were AI he says they're AI I he says they're AI. I've never like I guess I wouldn't know for sure. Okay. Does he text them to you? Does he send him to you on an app or anything?

Um, he's texted them to me, um, like a Reddit thing or whatever. But then, um, I don't know. He uses, like, he's used my apps and stuff. And I don't know if he's some stuff. The content we have is like 10, 12 year olds. Um, have you ever seen anything like that, whether it's AI or not. Any kids that young? Yeah, and sexual? Yeah, probably. And that's definitely in his, and it's the same thing. He said it was all fake stuff.

It's just. I mean, we'd have to look at it, but changes are it may not be. You may have actually been sending you child pornography. Erica Grove said Tony McCallister had sent what she thought were fake images of child pornography. She said it was his fantasy. A detective then took the stand in red text messages

between Erica Grove and Tony McAllister, in which they appeared to discuss giving the girl the drug MDMA or Molly. Drink it all, LOL, and she says smart. Tony says more Molly. She said, her Tony says, she will seem very weird on Molly, even uncomfortable, but she won't remember her so have fun. She says, I meant for me, LOL. She's had almost all now with a smiley face. She says, okay, going to trying to carry her in it in.

in a minute. Maybe put the lullabies on in there. Tony said, smart, done, love you. She says, love you. She says, uh, I feel terrible though, but babe, I love you so much. Thank you. Tony says, it's just the METI. He said, her vision is probably messed up, etc. It'll be okay. And he says, I love you so much. You're so gentle with her, loving. It's beautiful. She loved the beautiful statement. Tony says, you can see you want her to feel good. She says, I do.

I want it to feel good for her. I thought maybe it was. Then I saw she was laying there frozen with tears streaming down her face. Tony said, I know. I'm probably the factor like the dogs. She says, I couldn't. I don't know, maybe. Tony says, crying on Molly is common.

There were also text messages that discussed playing doctor with the child. Tony says, go play doctor. She says, is stairs. Tony says, I think bring toys to her room. She says, she loved the statement, bring about the toys. She says, I still have two doctors, her boo-boos. Tony says, you're going to put the thermometer in different holes. She says, let me see what I can find.

Tony says, good girl, flashlights, vibrating toothbrush, magic wand. Images you can show her for ideas. She says we're sitting up a hospital bed, I mean in to find a flashlight. And he says, can I hide in the closet? Hide it in closet. She says, yes. And he says, can it close? She said, hold on, let me get her out.

She says, yes. And he says, tell me when. She responds, I'll clear space. Hold on. Okay, go. Are you in? Tony says, yes, naked, turning on music. The detectives read ours.

and hours of disgusting, sexually explicit and essentially triple X rated text messages that Erica Grove and Tony McCallister wrote to one another. The messages are so foul that we really can't play them for you. But the defense pointed out on cross-examination of the detective that there are no test results confirming that the drugging actually happened. And then the hair follicle test comes back many, many months ago. Prosecutors knew about it verbally, they told us in court in May of this year, that it was negative for all drugs. Then they redo the test. They tested again with a shorter sample. It's negative for all drugs. You knew about those results, right?

Yes. You never told the little girl's dad? No. The little girl's dad, who has never been the primary caregiver, as far as my knowledge is, yes. He had not been part of her life for several years when she was little, true? Correct. doing the best he can. Yes. Don't you think he would be entitled to know the help reduce his anxiety that the drug tests came back on negative? That's a question.

He can take about it. Oh, sorry. I just didn't know it. I don't see anything wrong with him knowing that. Charlie Rickers then asked Detective Benz about his credentials. And you have specialized higher training because you're detective, right? Correct. And you've got a lot of experience. Correct. And you've been taught even as young as when you were at the about the importance of being objective, correct? Correct. And by objective, I mean neutral, right? Correct.

Not favoring evidence that fits one narrative, but ignoring evidence that might show innocence, right? Correct. Because the opposite of neutral and objective would be biased. And we don't bias, that's not good, right? Correct. And part of your training and experience, as a detective is to write findings down that are relevant and important.

And you highlight them in your narrative supplements in your report, correct? Correct. And that narrative supplement and report that you write is used to refresh your memory before you might testify many months later, right? Correct. For the prosecutors that you're ready for this case, correct? Correct. For the defense lawyers, also they read your narrative to see what evidence might be out there, right?

Correct. Often defense lawyers might just read the narrative and not go to the 100 hours of videotape and trust the police officer, correct? Correct. So Charlie Rickers, he's trying to make a point on cross. It will come out through questioning of Detective Benz that Homeland Security did not find any child sex abuse material on Eric Groves' phone. Yet the detective did not add that fact to his report. There's a possession that's also a felony of that, correct? Yes. And so you've got these nine counts, illegal minor nudity. You go down to HSI and they write a report, true? Yes. And in that report, the first bullet point in their narrative summary is there is no CSAM on Erica Groh's device.

True? Yes. But you don't put that in your report. Their report was issued after I completed mine. HSI report? I believe so, yes. I don't have the date for it. You have an ongoing duty to continue to supplement your reports, right?

I submit my report. If they submit other reports after that, then that's up to time. Well, the HSI report was June 4th. That was two and a half months ago. That's when that was completed. Okay. And I assume if you do other interviews, if you get information, that's important, you did what, 10, 20 narrative supplements on your report?

It was one continuous document, but yes. It continues. It started back in actually the first notation your report is June of 2025, right? That's when I received the cyber tip. And you've got supplementals going for about 12 months. Yes. And so when you get relevant important information, even if it hurts the government's case, you can do another supplemental and put in there Homeland Security says,

there's no C-SAM on this woman's phone who's stand charged with nine counts of illegal minor nudity. right? They issued the report. It was attached to the case file. Erica Grove's attorney pointed out that his client had been charged with illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material. However, that charge was dropped the first morning of the trial. The defense said it showed the child nude when she was two years old, pretending to read a book. And Erica Grove had sent it to her mother, but prosecutors will come back to that point later. There was more. Erica told you she didn't know sex with Animals was a crime. Correct.

She told you the dogs were McAllister's true. Yes. He had them before they met. Yes. And the dog stuff started right after she cheated on. Yes. And it was a way that he said that would fix their relationship. Yes.

That's what she told you right after you come in there. Yes. Tony initiated it. Yes. He pushed her. He encouraged it. She felt pressured. That's what she said.

And she knew, she told you, she knew that Tony had these fantasies with children, right? Yes. In that interview right then and there on that recording. Yes. And she asked you if she would let it interviewed at the child advocacy center, True? Yes, we asked her that. And she agreed? Yes.

Charlie Rickers repeatedly asked questions on cross-examination about the fantasy that he claims McAllister and Grove engaged in via text. We saw a bunch of text yesterday. We saw text messages where Erica clearly tells McAllister that she'll do the fantasy but not the reality, right? That was stated, yes. And it stated in multiple different points throughout these text messages. True? Yes.

That it's fun to talk about without any pressure to actually do it, right? Correct. And you saw repeatedly in these text messages that McCailles were getting very angry when Erica would get out a role, like say something that was based in reality rather than this fantasy, right? Correct. And the anger included expletives threats to her in text, right? Correct. And he tells her what he wants from her. That being, he wants her to assign different roles for herself and himself.

right? That's one of the many things, yes. Yeah, he wants to be the child and she's the mommy, right? Correct. Then it was time for redirect by the prosecution. Allegations as it relates with regard to Mr. McAllister, do they charge him as a principal or a complicitor to the vast majority of those behaviors? The majority of a complicitor. And that is because he wasn't the one. doing the touching or raping this young child. Correct. It was the defendant. Correct.

Detective Ben said on redirect, he didn't know about the text messages between Erica Grove and Tony McCallister until McCallister told him about them after his arrest. It does not appear that way. There was conversation about the child sexual abuse material that the defendant was originally charged with in this particular case with defense counsel that have now been dismissed. You were not privy to information about where those images were transferred at at the time of the indictment. Is that correct?

It's not an scope objection. What basis? Outside the scope of direct. Overruling it. You learned that the transfer, which is what the defendant was, which is what the defendant was charged with of those images that she was indicted for happened outside the state of Ohio. Correct.

And thus the dismissal that occurred. Correct. We can't prosecute someone in the state of Ohio for something that happened in another state. Is that true? Correct. And she was not indicted for the possession. She was indicted for the transfer of those videos. Or that, sorry, of those images, those pictures.

Is that correct? Correct. Did you see or observe any evidence that the conversations that we shared yesterday of this defendant engaged in sexual contact and conduct and acknowledging sexual contact and sexual conduct was anything but real? I have no reason to believe that what was stated in these messages did not actually happen. Thank you. And there was more testimony from a forensic interviewer who interviewed the child about things she would do with Erica Grove in the bathtub, including drawings with markers on body parts.

The state was expected to call Tony McAllister to testify, but that didn't happen. After prosecutors rested their case, the defense made the usual Rule 29 motion for acquittal claiming that the state didn't prove its case. And Judge Robert Peeler even questioned some of the evidence. I ask you is what you had other than these text messages because I am extremely skeptical that the state has proven the truth of the text messages. Again, you've heard from young about what she does with her mother and drawing back. You've seen the images that make those test messages true. I mean, the text messages talk about them drawing on each other.

You've seen images. You keep referring to the text messages. Yeah, but the text messages go along with the physical evidence. I mean, a picture is part of those text messages. It's within the text message chain. It was a different marker. The reason I asked about that, I wasn't, I was wondering if a five-year-old could actually draw that picture at the time.

So I'll give the state the benefit of the doubt that that's a possibility. But again, you're saying that if I find, even if I find, even if I find, even if I, even if I find the text messages basically are part of this, I'll leave out the adjectives, but this game, whatever it is, this fantasy, that I should rely on those, give some weight to those. The text messages, I actually believe that the stuff you've seen, the images, you can't take the images away, those are clearly images, they corroborate. that the stuff that they say in the text message is not big.

That's reliable. What evidence do you have the child, other than you made a point about the photo appeared to be similar to one she drew at the CAC? What evidence that you have that the child switched to a marker and drew the photo, grew the drawings on her mom? The child testified to that in her CAC interview, that she uses a different marker that is harder to take to... to scrub all.

The defense did not call one witness, not one. Then Judge Peeler heard closing arguments. Supporters of the child crowded the courtroom wearing pink in support of her. They believe she was sexually abused. Good morning, Your Honor. Good morning. Mothers, it's their duty, their obligation to protect the young children that they bring into this world. It's their duty to raise them to know the difference.

between right and wrong to teach these young, innocent minds how to protect themselves, how to know when people are doing wrong things to them. And it comes to sexual behaviors to teach them good and bad touches, body boundaries. This defendant failed miserably, and all of those duties and obligations. which we heard from that young lady's mouth. One of the other things that I do when I talk to kids to make sure that they're safe is I talk to kids about their body parts and making sure all their body parts are safe. The prosecutor then played excerpts from the girl's forensic interview, which I'll summarize for you. When asked by the interviewer whether anyone had ever talked to her about parts of the body that are private that no one should ever touch, the child said no.

Now, having seen graphic, detailed conversations between this defendant and Tony McAllister, we know why. We know why she wasn't teaching these things to this young five-year-old girl. It was so that she could be groomed, so that she could be used, so that she could be explored, as her and her boyfriend, Tony McAllister's sexual toy, to engage in the specifically disclosed acts. We're going to play here in a second. Happened to her those specific acts of gross sexual imposition.

And the covert rapes are the use of drugs, the guys of doctor play, and while this young child was sleeping. The prosecutor then played another clip where the forensic interviewer asked the child about artwork and whether anyone had ever drawn on her body. The little girl said that Erica Grove had drawn on her body with markers in the bathtub. The girl said that she colored with marker on Erica Grove on many body parts. The state has presented to you an overwhelming amount of evidence. Those disclosures, images, confessions of each of the charged acts of the indictment against this defendant.

And before I get into each specific count, which I'm going to do next, I think it's really important to point out to the court what the evidence has shown about a timeline that was taking place. It's very instructive to the counts, and it's very instructive to the believability of these conversations. We know that defendant and McAllister met in March of 2003. their conversations at that point quickly, quickly and very graphically turned with their sexual preferences, their sexual desires, her willingness to explore. In late 2023, early 2024, the defendant, I mean, Mr. McAllister discovers, the defendant was cheating on him with multiple men. And so what was a monogamous relationship with conversations about things they wanted and they desired turned into no longer that monogamous relationship. The Collister insisting that they are going to bring to reality both his and the defendants, sexual wants, multiple partners, gangbangs, dogs, and the sex with littles, children. is in September of

2024 that McCollister and the defendant move in with each other and McAllister and the defendant end up with that 24-7 access on Bywinder Way. And we know

all of those sexual wants happen. Not just from the text messages, but we look at the dog behavior, which we know there's 23 videos of the defendant and McAllister having sex. with dogs. I thought there was an agreement that as horrific as that is, you weren't going to be spending

time on that since responsibility was admitted on that. Yeah, we're not playing the videos because they don't, but they are applicable to showing the fact that we went from fantasy to reality. The prosecutor argued the text messages chronicled what was happening in real time. Kevin Hardman said they were not a fantasy. We turn to those confessions. Around 4.11 p.m. that afternoon is the defendant, Tex McAllister. She wants family time and then to escape.

And how are we going to make that happen? The defendant is happy to plan it out for her. He's going to cook dinner. He's going to provide her the Molly, which we know MDMA. Bath time with kids. finished with a cartoon and the defendant says yeah but maybe a couple of adjustments work runs late she'll work she's running late ah she's hoping man i got to get that molly i hope i'm not too late to get the drugs the defendant is charged with corrupting another with drugs between may 1st

In 2004 and December 23rd, 2025, the defendant knowingly furnished a Schedule 1 controlled substance, MDMA, to a juvenile who was more than two years younger than her, and she knew or was reckless with regard to that child's age. The text messages, the confessions have been exhaustive about the defendant and the Collister's use and access to Molly. MDMA. They have repeatedly made comments about dosing, about them taking Molly, but, and I would admit, positive testing would certainly be helpful. The testimony of Dr. Kleinman, and he'll have his report, as well as what he said on the court, is the lack of the existence of MDMA and the care sample of is not definitive. Meanwhile, the defense stuck to its theme that it was all make-believe. This is all fantasy make-believe, morally depraved, but not criminal.

That's what he just brought up, and I'm just sitting here like, okay, fine, you want to go through the chronology? Great. Didn't show you this one. They got 12,000 pages of text messages, so it is a lot. He talked about the first nine months, and I know that this is, is not really the key issue in this case, but you heard from Detective Benz that through his interviews with McAllister, who they didn't put on the stand to testify, and through these text messages, frankly, in the first nine months of this relationship, Detective Benz admitted that McAllister

in his interview said that Erica belittled him when he mentioned a sex tour. She belittled him when he mentioned bringing another man into the relationship. McAllister and Erica obviously common sense tells us that they were not thinking that they were going to ever need that these that their phones were going to be explored in court and contemporaneous to their thoughts about what they were doing with these fantasy texts this is back in 2024 august 20 it is okay to lie go with the fantasy and he's talking about text messages to erika and this is the page number for everybody right down here in the defense exhibit on every single one of these August 2024 is continuing.

Lying is required. I want you to make up fake things you've done. He tells her that. This is after beatings, after the manipulation and coercion, after the first nine months when she clearly states she doesn't do this stuff, has never role played, doesn't want to do this stuff. He holds. Detective Ben says that he admits

that he held the dog stuff over her head. And we have text messages that I didn't include in this, but you saw, where he says, doing this out of consequence, not by choice, the dog stuff. Assistant prosecutor Julie Kraft made her final argument to the judge. Erica Grove and Tony McAllister did not know that one day, all of their communications between one another would be displayed in a courtroom to be used against them in a criminal trial. When Erica Grove texted Tony about engaging in sex with animals, she didn't know that those

statements would later be used against her to convict her of bestiality. Crimes that she came into this courtroom this week and admitted to you, she did. When she texted with him on numerous occasions about things that she wanted and then actually engaged in and how it made her feel that very moment. She had no idea that one day she would be called to answer for her actions. And it's for that reason, Your Honor, the pure raw, unfiltered nature of her statements that you know you can believe them. In any other situation, in any other case, you would trust those statements that were texted to a co-defendant contemporaneously with the crime being committed. I think part of the hangup in this case is that the behavior described in the text is so depraved, so morally twisted, and so gut-wrenching that nobody wants to believe that they are real. Who wants to think that any human being is capable of doing those things to a child?

Judge Peeler did not announce a verdict after closings. He will consider the evidence and announce his verdict at a later date. Tony McAllister remains in the Warren County Jail. He has pleaded not guilty. His trial is set for September. And we'll keep an eye on all of this and let you know what happens. That's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Angelette Levy.

Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.