Man Sentenced to Life for Live Streamed Rape of Daughter, Mom Aware of Abuse

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DES MOINES, IA. – An Iowa man will serve life in prison for raping his daughter from infancy until the age of six.

On Monday, June 3, 2019, Steven Douglas Crook Jr. of Bloomfield, Iowa, was sentenced to 120 years in prison, the maximum allowable for his conviction. The sentence was a result of Crook’s guilty plea on four counts of sexual exploitation of a child. The United States Attorney’s officials said that Crook sexually abused his daughter, at times violently. Law enforcement learned of the sexual abuse and removed the 6-year-old child from the home in March 2018.

Authorities learned that Crook had taken photos and videos of the sexual abuse. In some instances, he even provided a live stream of the sexual abuse on Live.me, a social media app. During the live stream abuse, he encouraged his followers to watch him rape his young child live.

At some point, Kendra Hoover, the girl’s mother was also arrested for viewing the video and seeing the photos and still allowing the child to be alone with Crook. She is facing charges including neglect, abandonment of a dependent person and child endangerment. She pleaded not guilty and her case will go to trial later this year. U.S. Attorney Krickbaum added a warning about those who remain silent in the face of child abuse. “In this case, sexual abuse went undetected for years because family members failed to report it to authorities.” Krickbaum said that “anyone who believes a child may be a victim of abuse, sexual or otherwise, should report the suspected abuse to law enforcement immediately.”

The United States Attorney’s Officials said that Judge Rose described Crook’s crimes as “horrific.” The judge noted that Crook controlled the victim and hid his crimes for years, and called Crook’s actions “insidious,” “thoughtful,” and “manipulat[ive].” Judge Rose explained that the effective life sentence was necessary because Crook remains “so very dangerous” to children in the community.