All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
(Riverton, WY) – 53-year-old Fremont County man Charles Lawrence has been charged with two Counts of felony sexual abuse, one second degree and one third degree. He is scheduled to be arraigned on September 3.
Lawrence faces these charges following an investigation stemming from two separate victims, who came forward with allegations that he had sexually assaulted them after offering to give them rides in his truck back in January of 2024 and March of 2023.
Court documents state that on January 30, 2024 the Riverton Police Department received a report that a female subject was sexually assaulted by an unknown male in a pickup truck.
The 2024 victim told officers that she was in the process of walking home on the morning of January 9, after finding out her ride was not going to be able to pick her up.
While walking in the area of East Adams Street, the victim stated that a man in his early to mid 60’s, later determined to be Lawrence, pulled up next to her in a black truck and offered her a ride.
She accepted, seated herself in the passenger seat and they began driving toward her residence.
The victim then stated that after she declined Lawrence’s request to stop and buy alcohol, he soon started making sexual comments to her while touching his genitals.
Lawrence then drove past her residence instead of stopping, Court documents continue, and when the victim pointed this out, he replied, “Yeah, but we’re going for a ride.”
Lawrence then reportedly sexually assaulted the victim with his hand while continuing to drive, even after she told him to stop numerous times.
Court documents go on to state that the victim eventually told Lawrence that “she needed a bottle of alcohol to help calm her down and they could do whatever he wanted afterward.”
The victim told investigators that she actually had no intentions of doing anything sexual with Lawrence, but wanted to get out of the situation.
Lawrence reportedly continued to sexually assault the victim as they drove to the convenience store, and upon arrival she immediately went inside and hid in the cooler, where she soon told an employee what had happened.
Court documents go on to state that investigators later made contact with the store’s manager and assistant manager, who confirmed what the victim had told them.
They also informed investigators that as they consoled the victim, she reportedly told them not to call law enforcement, which they had requested to do.
The assistant manager then told investigators that Lawrence drove away when he went outside to get the license plate number from his vehicle.
When investigators later reviewed the video, the footage confirmed that a black truck, later determined to belong to Lawrence, parked at the convenience store on January 9, exactly where the victim had reported.
The video also showed the victim to be “distraught, crying and visibly upset” when she entered the store, and Lawrence’s truck could also be seen in the footage exiting the parking lot a few minutes later.
Investigators later made contact with Lawrence on February 6, 2024, at his residence in Fremont County.
Lawrence reportedly admitted to giving the victim a ride to the store on the date in question and that sexual contact did occur, but “denied that it was non-consensual,” Court documents state. He also confirmed that he left her at the store when she did not return to his truck.
As for the reported assault that occurred in 2023, Court documents state that on March 14 of that year, RPD received a request for assistance from a restaurant in Riverton, which concerned an incident that happened to an employee when she accepted a ride to work.
The victim went on to tell investigators that while she was walking to work that day, an older male driving a black truck approached her and asked if she wanted a ride.
The victim accepted, sat down in the passenger seat, and while they were driving, Lawrence reportedly asked her to “lift up her shirt and show her breast to him,” to which she said “no.”
Lawrence then stopped the vehicle at a nearby restaurant to let her out, but then reportedly groped her breast without consent before she could exit the vehicle.
A year later on March 17, 2024 investigators again made contact with the victim from 2023, who told them that the man who groped her wore glasses. She was then able to positively identify Lawrence from a photo lineup consisting of six individuals who all had “very similar characteristics.”
When details of Lawrence’s case later became publicly available, local news outlets erroneously stated that Lawrence was a current firefighter for the Riverton Volunteer Fire Department (RVFD).
Lawrence reportedly retired from the RVFD back in 2020, and the unwarranted association prompted the following press release from Fire Chief Jacob Blumenshine, which was issued to all local media outlets on August 24.
“On behalf of the members of The Riverton Volunteer Fire Department we want to be clear that Charlie Lawrence is retired from our organization. Mr. Lawrence retired in June 2020. The alleged actions of Mr. Lawrence are not condoned, nor tolerated, by myself or any of the members of The Riverton Volunteer Fire Department.
“Our mission is to protect the lives and property of citizens of the Riverton Fire Protection District and visitors to our area. As the Chief of the department, I want to assure you that any member of our organization that is found to be involved in any form of criminal activity will be immediately dismissed and not welcome on any Riverton Fire District property or at any form of Fire Department activity or gathering.
“The Riverton Fire Department’s policy requires a full NCIC background check, including fingerprinting, to be performed by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigations for all applicants. This not only keeps us compliant with current Wyoming State Statute § 7-19-20 (vii), but also provides our patrons an extra layer of security when interacting with our membership. If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of our operations, policies, or practices please contact me directly.“
Lawrence’s case was ultimately bound to District Court on August 20, where his arraignment was set for September 3.
A sexual assault in the second degree felony charge holds a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment (no less than 2).
A sexual assault in the third degree felony charge holds a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment.
County 10 will provide updates on the case as they become available, which can be viewed here.