ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuter) -- A Florida prisoner dubbed the "vampire rapist" for drinking his victim's blood was released to an Orlando halfway house yesterday after serving 10 years of a 25-year sentence for a brutal sex attack.

Community leaders and residents expressed fears for their safety and Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary blasted prison officials for releasing John Crutchley, 49, to the "tourist mecca of the world." Orlando is home to Disney World and other theme parks.

"Why do you put a vampire rapist into an area that generates 17 to 18 per cent of all the tax dollars for the state of Florida and [where] tourism is the main trade?" Sheriff Beary asked.

Crutchley, who is a 1971 graduate of Defiance College in Defiance, Ohio, served less than half of his prison sentence on a 1986 conviction for raping a teenage hitchhiker, who escaped after an 18-hour ordeal in which Crutchley drained and drank nearly half of her blood. Naked and wearing handcuffs, she eventually escaped through a bathroom window.

Crutchley left Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, Fla., Wednesday for the Brevard County Jail and was transferred to the halfway house.

The prison rules in effect at the time of his sentencing automatically gave Crutchley 3,000 days off his sentence and another 2,250 days off for good behavior. The rules have since been tightened.

Florida Department of Corrections officials said they had trouble finding a place to release Crutchley, whose sentence imposed 50 years of probation.

Officials from Fairfax County, [VA], where Crutchley's mother lives, did not want him back. Nor did city officials in Melbourne, Fla., where Crutchley worked as an engineer for Harris Corp. until his arrest in 1985.

Crutchley will stay at the Orlando Probation and Restitution Center, where he will undergo counseling and pay restitution after he gets a job.

He will need permission to leave the halfway house, but eventually will have to find a job and a place to live.

"It was frankly the quickest solution," said Department of Corrections spokesman Laura Levings. "It was where we had space. It was where we could get him, so that's what we did." The halfway house is in an area of industrial buildings near Pine Hills, a community.of 65,000 residents.

"I don't want him here. I think it's wrong. I can't understand why they tried to slip him in here on us," said Tulie Phillips, president of the Pine Hills community council who began a phone and fax blitz on local lawmakers.

"We will do anything we can within the law to get him out of here," she said.

Margaret Linnane, director of a food bank next to the halfway house, said the facility had been a good neighbor but she would meet with police to determine if her security procedures were "as tight as they can be."

"I know his stay is temporary and we're pleased about that" she said.

Sheriff Beary said Crutchley should have been sent to a remote area instead of a home near a school and residential areas.

"To put him in the vicinity of a school, hospital, and several neighborhoods is like putting a kid in a candy store. That is not acceptable," Sheriff Beary said.

Crutchley was a suspect, though never charged, in two dozen murders in Florida, West Virginia, and other states.

Sheriff Beary said Crutchley's picture would be put in every squad car and police would watch him "very, very closely."

"This should be a slap in the face for every woman in this state to have a heinous criminal like this getting out 15 years early and coming back into the community."

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The Crescent-News, Defiance, Ohio, Friday, August 9, 1996

'Vampire' rapist gains freedom

John Crutchley, 49, a former Defiance County resident, technically is a free man after 10 years behind bars for raping a hitchhiker in 1986 and drinking up to half her blood.

But Crutchley, who graduated from Defiance College in 1971, agreed to enter a closely supervised temporary program in Orlando, the home of Disney World, because "nobody else would take him. He had nowhere else to go," said Joe Hatem of the state Corrections Department.

"I think it's horrible," said Angela Davis, who has three daughters, ages 8, 4 and 3, and lives in an apartment complex near the fenced-in halfway house. "This makes me angry and nervous. It's hard to believe that he's coming in practically next door. I'm going to be more careful now."

Crutchley wore a baseball cap and carried a box with some of his belongings after arriving in a prison van.

He will undergo rehabilitation and counseling for up to four months. During that time, he will be allowed out of the halfway house only to look for a job, and will be accompanied by a guard anytime he leaves.

If he lands a job after the four-month period, he will be free to live on his own and will be required only to report regularly to a probation officer.

While at the halfway house, "he will be under close, 24-hour supervision by a beefed-up security staff, Hatem said.

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The Blade: Toledo, Ohio, Saturday, August 10, 1996

Vampire rapist breaks probation, is jailed

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Just a day after his release from prison, the Vampire Rapist was back in jail yesterday, accused of violating probation by using marijuana.

John Crutchley, 49, was sent to a halfway house Thursday after finishing 10 years of his 25-year sentence for raping and kidnapping a hitchhiker in 1985.

The terms of his probation specified that Crutchley not use drugs.

"I'm very pleased about it," said the sister of Crutchley's victim, who nearly died when Crutchley drained nearly half of her blood and drank it over a 22-hour period.

The 19-year-old woman escaped by crawling out of Crutchley's bathroom window when he left her alone, handcuffed and manacled, in his bathtub.

Crutchley had been released Thursday to a halfway house in Orlando to begin his 50-year probation.

He tested positive for marijuana use the same day and admitted using the drug, according to an arrest warrant.

"This has definitely made my day," said Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary, who was furious when Crutchley was put in his jurisdiction.

Orange County deputies took Crutchley into custody early yesterday afternoon.

The Department of Corrections supervisor at the halfway house recommended that Crutchley be "incarcerated for the maximum period of time allowable."

Circuit Court Judge Edward Richardson said that if he finds Crutchley guilty of violating the terms of his probation, the sentence would be for the original crimes, not the marijuana possession and use.

The probation sentence is for kidnapping and sexual battery, both of which can bring life terms.

"I guess he could get up to life now," Sheriff Beary said, laughing heartily. "And quite frankly, I like that idea."

Judge Richardson said he expects to have a hearing on the matter in about a month.

Crutchley was sent to Orlando after communities in West Virginia, where his mother lives, and Brevard County, where he lived when he was convicted, refused to take him.

The victim's sister, who asked her name not be used, said she was awaiting a call from her sister so she could tell her the news. "I'm sure she'll be very relieved."

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