State Attorney Bill Eddins announced yesterday Claude Russell Ratliff was sentenced to life in state prison by Circuit Judge John Miller. Ratliff was found guilty of Lewd or Lascivious Molestation by a Santa Rosa County Jury on Friday, May 9, 2014.
Ratliff, 56 years of age, had molested a 9 year old girl while she was visiting at his Milton home during August 2012. In March 2013 the child told her parents about the abuse and they took her to a Pensacola hospital, which contacted the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office. During an interview at the Gulf Coast Kids House, the girl told investigators that Ratliff had come into the room where she was sleeping and molested her. A warrant was issued for Ratliff and he was arrested on May 6, 2013.
Assistant State Attorney Cassandra Andres prosecuted the case. For further information, please contact Cassandra Andres at 981-5500.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Ratliff sentenced to life