A Hawthorne woman, 36-year-old Ashley Nicole Creel, was arrested on Tuesday, May 20, and charged with child neglect without great bodily harm and failure to report suspected child abuse. Her arrest follows an investigation that revealed she witnessed the sexual assault of a juvenile and failed to report it to law enforcement for an extended period.
The investigation began on the late evening of April 14, 2025, when deputies responded to SE 215th Terrace in Hawthorne to conduct a well-being check on Creel due to concerns for her mental well-being. Upon arrival, deputies learned that Creel had witnessed her husband, 39-year-old Jonathan Eugene Williams, and a juvenile victim engaged in sexual activity earlier that day.
The juvenile victim was interviewed and disclosed that they had been sexually abused by Williams multiple times over several months. Williams was located by deputies the same day and initially arrested on an unrelated civil writ. After being interviewed by Detective M. Adkins about the incident, Williams was charged with two counts of sexual battery by a custodian and one count of lewd or lascivious molestation. Williams’ cell phone was also seized as evidence.
An examination of Williams’ cellphone revealed messages between Williams and Creel, confirming that Creel witnessed the sexual assault but did not report the abuse to law enforcement until approximately 21 hours after it occurred. The report only came to light due to the well-being check on Creel and her responses to questions from the responding deputy.
Further investigation by Det. Adkins on May 19, 2025, revealed that Williams and Creel attended the juvenile victim’s sporting event on April 14th, after the witnessed incident. Creel reportedly left the event early, leaving the victim alone and in the care of Williams, despite being aware of his prior sexual assaults on the juvenile.
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