McALLEN — A former South Texas College math professor will spend the rest of his life in federal prison for sexually abusing two children under the age of 7.
U.S. District Judge Randy Crane handed down the maximum punishment allowable by law to Reid Etheridge, 42, during a protracted sentencing hearing in McAllen federal court Thursday.
Crane also sentenced Etheridge’s accomplice, Alicia Cronkhite, 30, to the mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison for what he repeatedly referred to as “disturbing,” “shocking” and “horrible” crimes.
“The facts of this case are just so horrible. This is somebody who groomed somebody else to give up their child so he could have sexual relations with another child besides his own,” Crane said, distilling down into a single sentence the months of atrocities Etheridge admitted to perpetrating against his own child and — later — Cronkhite’s child, too.
“This is, in my estimation, dramatically worse. This isn’t child porn, this is — he’s raping … his victims,” Crane said of Etheridge.
The victims were just 4 and 6 years old when Etheridge sexually abused them over the course of 2020.
Etheridge admitted to sexually abusing the 4-year-old on at least six occasions between March and October 2020.
Meanwhile, at his direction, Cronkhite sent Etheridge multiple sexually explicit photographs of her 6-year-old child between January and September 2020.
After a prolonged discussion between the judge and Etheridge’s defense attorneys, the former professor was given a chance to speak for himself.
He read from a folded piece of paper that he had been clutching tightly throughout the sentencing hearing.
“It is with sincere humility that I offer my apologies to my country, my community… and my victims,” Etheridge said, before adding that he had been “arrogant” and had “made a terrible mistake.”
“I am more than my mistakes,” he said.
But Crane characterized Etheridge differently.
The judge repeatedly described Etheridge as “calculating” and “very smart” in carrying out his crimes. The judge further expressed serious concerns that Etheridge would victimize more children if given an opportunity.
Aside from abusing his own child, Etheridge manipulated his way into Cronkhite’s life for the sake of abusing her child.
Cronkhite and her husband at the time, Ryan Cronkhite, had been students in Etheridge’s statistics class at STC.
Ryan Cronkhite became friends with the professor, even going as far as inviting him over to play videogames in the home he shared with his wife and child.
For Crane, it seemed apparent that Etheridge had begun to set his nefarious plans into motion as of that first social gathering with the Cronkhites.
“It does appear, from everything I read, that Mr. Etheridge was very calculating. I do believe that you were victimized from the very first time he went to your house to play videogames,” Crane said, addressing Alicia Cronkhite.
Alicia Cronkhite ultimately left her husband to pursue a romantic relationship with Etheridge.
Her defense attorney, Judith Ann Cantu, would go on to describe that relationship as “physically, mentally and sexually” abusive as Etheridge worked to coerce Cronkhite into giving him access to her child.
And give him access she did. Even after Etheridge broke off the relationship, the judge mentioned how Alicia Cronkhite and Etheridge exchanged 2,000 pages worth of text messages — with Alicia asking in many of those messages for Etheridge to take her back.
“Ms. Cronkhite was begging not to be left… (she) said something along the lines of, ‘You can have my child,’” Crane said of the text messages.
Alicia Cronkhite expressed remorse when given the opportunity to speak, breaking into tears as she apologized “to everyone here.”
“I don’t even recognize the woman that I was two years ago. I don’t understand how I could have been so weak. I’m ashamed of who I was,” Alicia Cronkhite said.
Her ex-husband — the man who first brought Etheridge into their home — spoke on her behalf.
Ryan Cronkhite said the child misses their mother, adding that he and the child have been making regular visits to the East Hidalgo Detention Center where Alicia Cronkhite is being held.
“The (mother’s) separation from the child has been extremely difficult on the child,” Ryan Cronkhite said.
He also added that he felt his ex-wife “has been punished enough” after spending two years in the La Villa prison while awaiting the resolution of the criminal proceedings.
But the judge later expressed shock at Alicia Cronkhite’s actions to not only harm her own child, but to do nothing in the face of Etheridge’s abuse of his child.
“Again, I just find your behavior shocking as a parent. When you see your child drowning, you jump after them,” Crane said, adding that Alicia Cronkhite had lacked the parental instinct to save her child from harm.
“I’m also very concerned that — just as a human being — you didn’t reach out to protect Victim 1 (Etheridge’s child). You were the only one who knew,” Crane said.
Nonetheless, Crane was swayed by Ryan Cronkhite’s plea for leniency for his ex-wife. Crane also took into consideration a psychosexual evaluation that found Alicia Cronkhite is not likely to reoffend if released from prison.
Though she, too, faced life in prison, Crane ultimately sentenced her to the mandatory minimum of 15 years.
As for Etheridge, the man displayed no emotion as Crane handed him the maximum punishment allowable under the law.
Crane had begun the sentencing hearing by stating that Etheridge’s crimes had maxed out the Federal Sentencing Guidelines range.
But Etheridge’s defense attorney still pleaded with the judge to make a so-called “downward departure” — imploring Crane to sentence Etheridge to a maximum of 30 years in prison.
Guerra based her argument for the downward departure by saying that Etheridge was a “sixth generation alcoholic” who had also been taking prescription medications to treat ADHD.
She also claimed that this was Etheridge’s first offense and — under state level sentencing guidelines — he wouldn’t be looking at life in prison until a second offense or more.
But prosecutors were quick to dispute that.
“I think it’s important to remember there’s two victims here. And it wasn’t just one act,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Mitchell said.
“The reason we’re in federal court is because he recorded these horrible acts. He memorialized it. He’s incredibly dangerous,” Mitchell said.
However, Guerra downplayed both Crane’s and the prosecutor’s concerns that Etheridge has a high risk of reoffending — concerns backed up by the findings of a psychosexual evaluation.
“As much as we want to hop on that ‘hysteria bandwagon’ … the court has discretion to downward depart,” Guerra said.
In the end, Crane found that the need to protect the public outweighed all other concerns.
“I feel very closely that the guidelines sentence is a fair one largely because of my fear that Mr. Etheridge is going to reoffend,” Crane said.
“The mind has to be so deranged… I don’t think he can ever be trusted to be in the presence of children.”
Etheridge showed no reaction as he learned his fate.
At first, he looked at Crane while the judge spoke. But as Crane continued to explain the life sentence, Etheridge turned his head and looked off blankly into the distance.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with the full version.
