Lawrence Clair Pease III, 34, Beaver Island was sentenced to serve 18 to 40 years in prison following his conviction of Criminal Sexual Conduct, First Degree today in the 33rd Circuit Court.

Pease pleaded guilty on February 5, 2021 to sexual penetration involving a child under the age of 13.

In sentencing Pease, Judge Roy C. Hayes III noted that the sexual assault of children is one of the most heinous crimes that he sees and that it was particularly offensive in this circumstance.

The case was prosecuted by Charlevoix County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Mary Farrell and was investigated by the Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Office and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Child Protective Services.

“This predator will be in prison for a long time thanks to the bravery of the victim in this case, and solid work by the investigators and Ms. Farrell,” Charlevoix County Prosecuting Attorney Allen Telgenhof said. “We were very happy to have such a result without the victim having to be retraumatized by testifying at trial.”

In addition to the prison sentence, Pease will be a registered sex offender for life and have lifetime electronic monitoring.