Sex offender, former prison officer is caught

Federal marshals arrested a fugitive former correctional officer and sex offender Monday at a McDonald’s restaurant on Kauai, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

William Lawrence, 41, had been on the run since 2006, when he was convicted of forcible sexual abuse and forcible sodomy, a third-degree felony. At the time of the alleged abuse, Lawrence worked as a correctional officer for the Utah Department of Corrections.

Lawrence used his badge to coerce a young girl into performing sexual acts, handcuffing her to the bed and assaulting her, federal officials said. He absconded before his sentencing hearing in 2006, they said.

“As a former law enforcement officer, Lawrence knew the strategies used to track down fugitives,” Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Derryl Spencer said. “He was able to elude law enforcement for years — until now.”

The U.S. Marshals Service in Utah took over the case from the West Jordan (Utah) Police Department in 2010. In October marshals discovered that Lawrence had created a fake identity and was living in Hawaii.

On Sunday two marshals from Utah flew to Kauai to arrest Lawrence, with the help of task force officers from Honolulu. They arrested Lawrence on Monday without incident while he was eating lunch at the McDonald’s at 4-0771 Kuhio Highway.