Sixteen years ago, he stood beside a president as the poster child for victimized children.
Now, he's headed to prison for raping a 10-year-old.
In 1996, when he was 7, Croote visited the White House to watch President Clinton sign an order that required missing children posters to be hung in federal buildings — a policy galvanized in-part by Croote's horrific young life.
When he was 2, his father shot and killed his pregnant mother in Hinesville, Ga., and then left him with her corpse for hours, according to the Times Union.
Two years later, his dead mother's parents snatched him during a bitter custody battle with his paternal grandparents.
His chubby face appeared plastered on missing-child posters for three years until his grandparents were finally busted after a nationwide search.
Croote eventually went to live with his paternal grandmother, who was with him the day he visited the Oval Office with other families of missing children to watch Clinton sign the order.
A snapshot from the signing session shows Linda Koerner with her arm on her grandson's shoulder as Clinton gives the policy his seal of approval.
But Croote's troubles continued.
In his teens, he shuttled between homes for troubled kids, and at 17, he was convicted of sexually assaulting an instructor at a home in Wendell, Mass.
His victim's parents already knew Croote and knew he was a registered sex offender when they allowed him to watch their daughter, the Times Union said.
In his confession, Croote told cops the girl screamed and he choked her to try to make her stay quiet.
He later surrendered to police, saying, "I think I hurt a little girl," according to the newspaper.
