An Ottawa man has been convicted of exposing himself to a University of Kansas student, his second sex-crime conviction in Douglas County.

Ryan James Lawrence, 31, pleaded no contest Wednesday afternoon to one misdemeanor count of lewd and lascivious behavior.

Lawrence was arrested in December 2015 after a KU student reported to police she saw a man parked along the 1600 block of High Drive, touching himself.

Ryan Lawrence.

Investigating officers soon matched the student’s description of the suspect and his car with a registered sex offender — Lawrence — who was already in the custody of the Douglas County Jail.

At the time, Lawrence was in jail serving a one-year sentence after pleading no contest to two 2015 charges of lewd and lascivious behavior.

Lawrence also has two misdemeanor lewd and lascivious convictions in Johnson County, court records show. He was convicted there once in 2005 and a second time in 2015.

While in jail, Lawrence was allowed to leave temporarily as a part of the facility’s work-release program.

Among other details, investigators found that the time Lawrence was out of jail for “job search” matched the time the crime was reported.

The new lewd and lascivious behavior charge was filed against Lawrence in January. He could face up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

Lawrence is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 19 at 2:30 p.m. for sentencing.

Due to Lawrence’s 2015 conviction, he is already required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He remains an inmate at the Douglas County Jail.