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Widower faces 20 years for pornography
By CARRIE JOHNSON, Times Staff Writer INVERNESS -- Only a few days ago, prosecutors offered John O. Lawrence a deal: Plead guilty to the four pornography-related charges he is faced with and he would only spend two years in prison. Lawrence, 68, refused and decided to take his chances with a jury. On Friday, after jurors were selected and the trial was scheduled to begin, Lawrence changed his mind. He told Circuit Judge Ric A. Howard he wanted to plead no contest to the charges, one count of possession of child pornography and three counts of providing obscene material to a minor. But by then, prosecutors had withdrawn their offer. Now, Lawrence faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $20,000 fine when he is sentenced next month. "We're very pleased the victims won't have to go through the trauma of having to testify at trial," said Detective Michael Baute of the Citrus County Sheriff's Office, who investigated the case. "I think part of the reason he made his decision not to go to trial was that the state had a very good case to present." But Lawrence's attorney, Jim Cummins, said his client just wanted to spare his alleged victims, ages 6, 11 and 12, the emotional strain of a trial. "In his words, he wanted to save everyone a lot of time and effort," Cummins told Howard. Lawrence, a Homosassa resident and a widower, was arrested in June on charges of taking picturs of the 6-year-old girl he babysat. The girl stayed at Lawrence's house four times a week, according to an arrest report. She told detectives Lawrence had taken nude photographs of her at least 10 times. When detectives confronted Lawrence, he showed them the photographs he had taken of her, which he kept in his bedroom closet, according to court records. Lawrence also told them he showed the girl pornographic magazines, pictures and movies, the records said. After Lawrence was arrested, he volunteered information about the 11-year-old boy and gave detectives an address and telephone number where the boy could be reached. Court records showed the boy told officers Lawrence showed him pictures of naked women, pornographic movies and magazines, the boy said. A 12-year-old girl who lived at the same address as the 11-year-old boy also said Lawrence had shown her pornographic magazines and pictures of naked women. -- Crime reporter Carrie Johnson can be reached at 860-7309 or cjohnson@sptimes.com.
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