St. Joseph County home detention officer pleads guilty to sex crime

By JEFF PARROTT, Tribune Staff Writer

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Andre Lawson. (Photo provided)

By Jason Overholt

Story Created: Nov 10, 2009 at 1:12 PM EST

Story Updated: Nov 10, 2009 at 3:12 PM EST

A St. Joseph County home detention officer charged with fondling an offender during a home monitoring visit would avoid jail time under a binding plea agreement he filed today in court.

In a hearing before Superior Court Judge Jerome Frese, Andre Lawson, 42, agreed to plead guilty to Class C felony attempted sexual misconduct, in exchange for prosecutors dismissing a Class C felony charge of sexual misconduct.

Lawson, wearing a tan-colored dress suit and standing next to his attorney, Andre Gammage, admitted to the crime in a brief hearing.

A Class C felony is punishable by two to eight years in prison under Indiana statute.

Frese took the plea agreement under advisement and set sentencing for Dec. 17. If he approves the plea agreement, the judge would sentence Lawson to two years in jail, but suspend that time and place him on probation for two years.

Lawson would agree to undergo a mental health evaluation and receive counseling, if ordered.

Before sentencing, Frese will have reviewed a pre-sentence investigation report conducted by the probation department.

Prosecutors say Lawson, during a Dec. 13 visit to the North Liberty home of a 22-year-old woman, lifted up her shirt, fondled and kissed her. He then asked her to perform oral sex, prosecutors have charged.

The woman, whom The Tribune is not identifying because she is an alleged sex crime victim, later reported the incident to police. She has told The Tribune that she was afraid to run from her home because she was on house arrest and is a convicted felon.

"He is an authority figure and he used that to get what he wanted," the woman told The Tribune in a Jan. 27 article.

Lawson was fired shortly after the charges were filed in January.

Staff writer Jeff Parrott: jparrott@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6320

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