Andre Laurens Crane hid an audio recorder in his home in an effort to catch his now ex-wife cheating on him. But it instead caught him molesting his stepdaughter.

Crane was convicted Thursday of molesting the girl, now 15, and sentenced to life in prison, plus 10 years, the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office said.

Evidence at Crane’s trial revealed he began molesting the girl when she was 11 years old, according to Dan W. Mayfield, chief assistant district attorney. One of the molestation incidents was captured on an audio recorder, Mayfield said.

“After the recording was discovered, the defendant barricaded himself inside his home in Hall County and attempted to commit suicide,” Mayfield said in an emailed statement. “He was later questioned by police, but denied molesting his stepdaughter.”

The victim testified against Crane during the trial, Mayfield said. The jury deliberated about an hour before returning a guilty verdict on six counts.

Charges against Crane are pending in Hall County.

About the Author

Keep Reading

A Korean Air plane takes off from Incheon International Airport in South Korea on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. The plane is chartered to bring back Korean workers detained in an immigration raid in Georgia. (Yonhap via AP)

Credit: AP

Featured

Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

Credit: NYT