An agreement has been reached in the case of a Bemidji State University student and member of the BSU football team charged with raping a 20-year-old female BSU student in his university dorm room in September.
Timothy Andrew Lawrence, 20, of Chicago, appeared in Beltrami County District Court Tuesday morning in front of District Judge Shari Schluchter. He faced a charge of third-degree criminal sexual conduct for allegedly forcing the woman to have intercourse with him during the early morning hours of Sept. 12. Lawrence pleaded innocent to the charge.
In the courtroom Tuesday, County Attorney Tim Faver told the judge that an agreement was reached late Monday for a deferral of prosecution for four years. The charges against Lawrence will be dismissed after four years as long as he follows the conditions laid out by the court.
Under the conditions, Lawrence is not allowed to have contact with the alleged victim or her immediate family, he is required to undergo an evaluation relative to the charge and follow any recommendations that stem from that evaluation, and he must commit no same or similar offenses and remain law abiding. The conditions also state that Lawrence is prohibited from residing within 50 miles of the city of Bemidji effective May 15.
Lawrence, a BSU junior and an offensive lineman on the football team, stopped practicing with the team and was no longer involved with team activities after the charges were brought forth, according to BSU Director of Communications Al Nohner.
