In response to a defense motion for the dismissal of charges against a 76-year-old church leader accused of molesting children in the late 1970's and early 1980's, Pittsburg County prosecutors have filed a motion alleging a church cover-up that delayed discovery of the alleged crimes.
Defense attorneys for Ronald Lawrence of McAlester say that the 12-year statute of limitations has expired for prosecuting the sexual abuse that allegedly occurred between 1977 and 1982. Prosecutors, however, say that the statute of limitations begins with discovery, which they say occurs when the offense is reported to law enforcement. According to the state's attorneys, the crimes were not reported to law enforcement until August 2013 because of a concerted effort by the church's governing body to conceal the crimes.
Lawrence was arrested on November 26, 2013, on complaints of sexually abusing four children while he was an elder with the McAlester Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. He was released the following day when someone posted his $50,000 bond.
Initially, police say, Lawrence denied any wrongdoing; however, they allege that he later said that there was some "inappropriate" activity with one of the accusers and that it "may have been on purpose." Although there were three accusers--two women and one man who said they were molested by Lawrence as children aged 5 to 13--investigators say Lawrence alerted them to a fourth potential victim when he told them about a boy who accused him of molesting him in the janitor's closet at a bank where he worked. Lawrence allegedly told police that the boy made up the story in order to get him fired from his job. Investigators contacted the man, who refused to discuss the alleged incident with police.
After initially denying any child sexual abuse, Lawrence allegedly called a detective and admitted that the Kingdom Hall had "dis-fellowshipped" him after early allegations that he was molesting children at the church. In order to be reinstated, he said, church officials made him confess to his crimes, which he says he did in 2005. Prosecutors allege the church cover-up as a result of their failure to report suspected sexual abuse when the initial allegations arose that led to church officials kicking him out of the membership, and their failure again to report the alleged crimes when Lawrence confessed to child molestation.
Lawrence is charged with 19 counts of felony sex crimes, including 11 counts of lewd molestation, five counts of forcible oral sodomy, two counts of forcible sodomy and one count of rape by instrumentation.
