A woman has come forward to accuse a former Pennsylvania state trooper of raping and sexually abusing her when she was a young child in the Philadelphia suburbs over the course of several years.
On Tuesday, Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan announced child rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault, and related offenses against 59-year-old Darren Lawrence.
“This is an incredibly disturbing allegation,” Ryan said in a news release. “We will do everything possible to ensure we seek swift justice on behalf of the victim in this case.”
Last month, a now 22-year-old woman came forward with the allegations that Lawrence sexually abused her at least once a month over a three-year period, the DA’s office said. She was between the ages of 9 and 12 at the time.
“The sexual abuse occurred when the victim’s mother left the child in the care of the defendant in various locations in Chester County,” the DA’s office said.
The woman accused Lawrence of raping her when she was between 10 and 11 years old, the DA’s office said. She also claimed he kissed her and sexually assaulted her during the entire three-year period.
Lawrence, who now lives in Wilmington, Delaware, is also accused of taking nude photographs of the girl when she was around 10 or 11 years old.
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The alleged abuse occurred years after Lawrence was a state trooper. Lawrence was a Pennsylvania State Police trooper from November 1982 to July 2001, state police said while noting that his personnel record is not available to the public.
Lawrence was charged Monday with 113 counts related to child sex abuse and rape, arraigned and jailed after being unable to post $250,000 bail, according to online court records.
Court records don’t list an attorney who could comment on Lawrence’s behalf.
Anyone who may have more information about the case is asked to call Chester County Detective James Ciliberto at (610) 344-6866.
