Arrest Made 23 Years After Brutal Pasco Rape

A 17-year-old girl got off a school bus at the intersection of U.S. 41 and Twin Oaks Drive in Spring Hill and walked into the path of a rapist.

The girl was found by her family about two hours later unconscious. The girl, deputies said, had been brutally beaten, raped and left for dead.

Her attacker struck her on the head multiple times with a weapon, leaving behind severe cuts and skull fractures.

The girl ultimately suffered serious permanent mental and physical disabilities, the sheriff’s office stated, but was able to provide authorities with a description of her attacker.

The attack in question occurred on Jan. 16, 1992, with the accused rapist remaining unknown to authorities until now.

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office announced an arrest in the case Thursday, more than 23 years since the attack.

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DNA evidence uncovered from the victim and her clothing was used recently by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to locate potential relatives of the attacker in the cold case, an arrest report stated.

A break in the case came when FDLE reported it had found a possible match in a man, who ultimately turned out to be the suspect’s son.

On Feb. 17, Det. David Boyer interviewed the man the evidence pointed toward. While the man denied knowing the girl or having any contact with her, he did voluntarily provide a DNA swab, the report stated.

When the FDLE reported a match between the suspect and the DNA related to the 1992 attack, an arrest was made.

Jeffrey Norman Crum, now 53, was arrested Wednesday in Holiday. He now faces attempted felony murder and sexual battery with serious injury charges.

Crum was being held in the Land O’ Lakes Jail Thursday without bond.

Photos courtesy of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office

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