Lenoir City man charged with raping, photographing son

LENOIR CITY, Tenn. (WVLT) -- A 23-year-old Loudon County man is in jail after investigators say he video taped himself raping his 2-year-old son, according to the Loudon County Sheriff's Department.

Friday, a Loudon County judge refused to grant bail for Edward William Crandall, because she felt he was a flight risk.

According to the arrest report, deputies say they discovered pornographic images of Crandall and his son while searching Crandall's Northshore Drive home Thursday. Investigators were executing a search warrant for aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor.

Loudon County arrested Crandall at his place of employment in Knoxville and took him to the Knoxville Police Department where he was questioned with the assistance of the KPD Internet Crimes Against Children unit.

Sources close to Crandall say the Crandall and the boy's mother are not married and are currently separated.

Deputies say the child is not in state custody, but is staying with a relative. It's not clear whether the relative is on the boy's mother's side of the family or the father's.

Crandall is charged with rape of a child. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 21, 2010 in Loudon County court.

Crandall has a minor criminal history that involves traffic citations, domestic charges and at least one order of protection that was taken out against him by the child's mother.