Sex, Lies, and No Shame in a Small Town

By Gloria Way

  Anahuac was shaken to its core a couple of years ago when several members of prominent Anahuac families were alleged to be “involved” in a “sex ring” that involved underage girls. After dozens of interviews, the Chambers County District Attorney Cheryl Lieck Henry charged Anahuac residents Terrin Van Deventer, Ethan Traxler, and Michael Kreuzer with numerous charges involving the same underage child. The charges range from adult felony indecency exposure to a child, second degree felony sexual assault of a child, child trafficking, among others. Traxler pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in September and Van Deventer will go to trial in Galveston in November.

  Kreuzer pleaded guilty to two counts of “indecency with a child by exposure”. A sentencing hearing was held last Monday and Tuesday in the 253^rd District Court in Anahuac. Visiting Judge Robert Trapp presided over the hearing as 253^rd District Court Judge Chap Cain had recused himself.

  During the hearing, a common thread among the witnesses on either side was that “Anahuac was a small town, that everybody knew everybody, and everybody knew what everybody did”. DA Henry used that sentiment to expose Kreuzer as a long time “sexual predator”, a predator who had a history of forcing himself on women and/or making unwanted passes to girls since high school.  Henry presented witness after witness who testified to Kreuzer “attempting to force himself” on them and/or Kreuzer being aggressive towards them in a sexual manner. Henry’s intent was to present a pattern that Kreuzer was a known sexual predator and that he had a reputation of making young girls and women feel uncomfortable. Several of the female witnesses confirmed Kreuzer’s reputation as a “creep”, as someone who texted his son’s high school girlfriends using “snapchat” and making unwanted advances. One witness testified that parents warned their teenage daughters not to be in any social situation if Michael Kreuzer was going to be there. Many witnesses also testified that they had been friends with Kreuzer’s wife, Kaci, and that after they told her about Michael having an affair and making sexual advances towards other girls/women, their friendship ended. Henry added that in addition to the women who testified, there were “hordes” of women who could testify to unwanted sexual advances from Kreuzer over the years.

    Henry also called Carl Weems, a former retired Exxon employee who worked with Kreuzer. Weems stated that he currently lives in Galveston and when he heard that Kreuzer was going to trial in Galveston, Weems said “I need to go and find out what this is all about”.  Weems testified that he attended the trial and heard Kreuzer plead guilty to two counts of indecent exposure to a child. Weems said that Kreuzer saw him as he was leaving court, and that Kreuzer said “I am being framed. They’re trying to get back at my dad”. Weems testified that his thought was, “why is he (Kreuzer) saying he is being framed when I just heard him plead guilty”. Henry interjected, “How is Kreuzer holding himself accountable when he tells a former coworker, after he pleaded guilty, that he was being framed because of his dad?”

  In addition to Weems, Henry called several people to the stand who wrote letters on behalf of Kreuzer for the sentencing hearing.  These witnesses testified that Kreuzer had not informed them that he had pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent exposure to a child. All said that if they had known he had pleaded guilty, they would not have written a letter on his behalf.

  The victim took the stand. She told the Court that she became friends with Terrin Van Deventer through her (the victim’s) best friend. She and Terrin became friendly, and they would run errands together. She explained that she would accompany Van Deventer when Van Deventer sneaked to see Kreuzer. Van Deventer would use the victim as a “cover” to leave her family to see Kreuzer. Traxler would arrive with Kreuzer, and Kreuzer and Van Deventer would do “their thing” with the victim and Traxler there. The victim acknowledged that she met Traxler (who was married with a child) through Kreuzer and Van Deventer, and a romantic relationship ensued with Traxler. The victim testified in disturbing detail about her encounters with Traxler and with Kreuzer and Van Deventer. She spoke of being in a vehicle with Traxler in the front seat and Van Deventer and Kreuzer were in the back seat. Van Deventer was performing sexual acts with Kreuzer in front of her with Kreuzer “looking at her” while engaging in sexual acts with Van Deventer.  The victim testified that Kreuzer used his cell phone’s flashlight during encounters with Van Deventer. The victim also detailed how Kreuzer rented rooms at La Quinta Hotel in Winnie so they could all spend the night. And she testified that after Traxler’s wife found out about their rendezvous, Traxler broke up with her to “focus on his family”. Distraught over their breakup, the victim contacted Kreuzer to talk about Traxler. They met at a truck stop and Kreuzer was in the back seat. When the victim got in the back seat to talk to him, the victim alleges that Kreuzer groped her and fondled her and attempted to rape her. The victim had to take a recess during testimony to compose herself to continue. The victim said all she wants is Kreuzer to take accountability for what he did.

  Henry called Emily Traxler, wife of Ethan Traxler, to the stand. When asked by Henry “who is the real victim in this case”, Emily hesitated and shrugged “the kids?”. Disturbingly, Emily continually referenced the victim, who was engaged in an affair with her husband as 16 ½ years old…emphasizing the ½. She also stated that 16 years was “of legal age” in some states. Emily displayed no concern that her husband had been having an affair with an underage girl for months.

  When the defense put on its case, the first witness was Kaci Kreuzer, Michael Kreuzer’s wife. Kaci testified that she had no idea that Michael had been having a long-term affair with Terrin Van Deventer. When asked if she was aware that her husband had a “reputation” as being a creep, Kaci said “no”. When asked if any of her friends had ever told her that Michael was having an affair, she said “no”. When asked if their son and Michael had come to blows because of Michael “snapchatting” his girl friends from school, Kacie said “no”. When asked if their son ever had parties at their house, and Michael would be around the young girls and “snapchat” them to meet them “behind the fence and drive around and drink beer”, she said “no”. When asked if there were any parties at their house with her son’s friends, she said there were never any parties at their house. When asked if any of her friends had told her about Michael’s sexual advances, she said “no”. Kaci stated, “sexual advances is not same as having an affair.” In later testimony, Kreuzer stated that his wife never asked him about having an affair, so he never lied to her.

  Michael Kreuzer was called to the stand. He stated that he had a clean record, no criminal history. He stated that his father Monroe Kreuzer was Chambers County sheriff between 2000-2004. He stated that he had worked for Exxon for over 20 years. Henry asked Kreuzer if he was aware that the victim was underage. He said that he thought she was “young”. He testified that when he did realize her age, that he should have told Miss Van Deventer to not bring her around because of her age.  “That’s on me”, Kreuzer said. “I let my family and close friends down. I put them through a lot. I have a lot to work on gaining their trust…”

  Henry asked Kreuzer about the truck stop encounter with the victim, and if he denied forcing himself on the victim. He said that he never “even touched her”. He said he never grabbed her; he denied every accusation by the victim. When asked if he attempted to have sex with the victim, he said “no”.

  Henry said to Kreuzer, “lying comes easily to you, doesn’t it? You have never been held accountable for anything you have ever done in your life, have you?

  The hearing was a sentencing hearing. Kreuzer had already pleaded guilty so there was nothing to prove or disprove, only to render justice for the crimes he pleaded guilty to.

  The takeaway from the hearing was that the victim was underage, and the defendant knew the victim was underage. Kreuzer, the defendant, was involved in a long-term extramarital affair with Van Deventer. Van Deventer and Kreuzer introduced the victim to Traxler. Kreuzer and Van Deventer would engage in sexual relations while the victim and Traxler were present. Kreuzer and Van Deventer would have sex in front of the victim knowing she was underage. Despite testimony from a dozen women claiming Kreuzer made unwanted sexual advances towards them, Kreuzer denied all allegations of sexual misconduct, sexual advances, or sexual innuendos towards these women. He denied “snapchatting” his son’s girlfriends”. “It never happened”, stated Kreuzer.

  Sadly, Kaci Kreuzer came across as not telling the truth when she denied any of her former friends had talked to her about her husband being “unfaithful” or making sexual advances. She was not believable when she testified that her children never had parties at her home. After her testimony, Henry looked at her and said “Good job, Kaci.  Good job.”

  Emily Traxler came across as defiant and hostile emphasizing that in some states, the age of 16 is the age of consent.

  It’s tough getting to the truth in a small town … sex, lies, and no shame.