Judge Robert "Mack" Crawford, Superior Court, Pike County. (Photo: John Disney/ ALM)

In the Pike County Courthouse where he presided as a judge for nearly a decade, suspended Superior Court Judge Robert "Mack" Crawford pleaded guilty through an Alford plea Thursday to theft by taking. A charge of violating his oath of office and a second theft charge were dismissed.

Superior Court Judge Maureen Gottfried, on assignment from the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit in Columbus, sentenced Crawford to 12 months of unsupervised, fee exempt probation and granted him first offender status. Crawford's plea will not be made part of the court record at this time and will be sealed along with the charges, once his probation is complete.

Crawford was charged with abusing his judicial authority to steal $15,675 that belonged to former clients from the Pike County court registry.

Crawford repaid the money in 2018 after the Judicial Qualifications Commission received multiple complaints that he had violated the state Code of Judicial Conduct and launched an ethics investigation into the judge. The funds were subsequently turned over to the state Department of Revenue, which located one of Crawford's former clients and forwarded the money to her last year.

As part of a plea agreement with the state attorney general's office, which did not include an admission of guilt, Crawford agreed to retire and submit his resignation to Gov. Brian Kemp by Friday. The 66-year-old judge, whose term expires in December, also promised he will not seek reelection or apply for, run or serve as a judge in any court while he remains on probation. Crawford has not heard any cases since the state judicial watchdog agency suspended him with pay after his indictment by a Pike County grand jury nearly 16 months ago.

Crawford's attorney, Virgil Brown, told the court Thursday that his client maintains he was owed the money for legal work he performed but was never paid. Brown also insisted that Crawford never ordered the clerk to give him the money or intimidated her in any way.

"She paid him that money back because she thought it was the right thing to do," Brown said. "I've known Mack Crawford most of his life. … In my opinion Mack Crawford would not take one cent that was not his."

Crawford said he entered the Alford plea and agreed to retire because he decided when he ran in 2012 that it would be his last campaign. He said he also feared his state pension might be jeopardized if a trial led to a felony conviction. "I think I would have prevailed, but I wasn't going to take the chance," he said.

Crawford refused to step down in the wake of his indictment despite a recommendation by the state judicial watchdog agency that he be removed from office. Crawford instead filed a legal challenge questioning the legitimacy of the appointed commissioners who voted to oust him.

The Supreme Court of Georgia stayed a decision on whether to accept the Judicial Qualifications Commission's recommendation to remove Crawford until an appeal of his challenge is resolved.