Couple reports decades-old sex crime

News from today’s police briefing:¢Decades-old sex crimes:A man and woman living in California have reported to Lawrence Police that their three children, now adults, were touched inappropriately by an acquaintance when they came to Lawrence for visits between January 1976 and January 1990. The suspect is now age 66. The parents told police they learned off the abuse in 2004 but didn’t initially report it because the statute of limitations had run out. But they said they decided to report the incidents and document the case because the man is appealing a conviction in an unrelated sex crime. Police did not release the suspect’s name or further details about the family involved. ¢Motorcyclist injured: A 23-year-old motorcyclist from Lawrence, William M. Sherrill, was flown to a Kansas City-area hospital by helicopter this morning after colliding with a car at 19th and Kentucky Streets. He was going west on 19th Street about 7:30 a.m. when he collided with a Dodge Stratus driven by a 27-year-old Lawrence woman, Jocelyn Komiya. She had been going east on 19th Street and tried to turn north onto Kentucky but didn’t see Sherrill because the sun had obscured her vision, police said. Police have not yet released further details of the wreck, including whether Sherrill was wearing a helmet.¢Rape report: A 46-year-old Lawrence woman told police an acquaintance raped her between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday in central Lawrence. Police have sent a report of the incident to the District Attorney’s office for possible charges.¢Indecent exposure: Three passersby reported seeing a man touching himself inappropriately in a downtown walkway around 12:05 a.m. Wednesday, according to a report. The man has not been identified.¢Drug bust: Lawrence Police served a search warrant Wednesday afternoon at a home in the 2400 block of Brushcreek Drive as part of an investigation into whether a 19-year-old Lawrence man was selling drugs from the home of a 22-year-old woman, police said. They seized items including cash, drug paraphernalia, and suspected marijuana, but no arrests have been made.¢Thief leaves ID behind: Lawrence Police say a man who grabbed cash from a register at a grocery store left behind something important after he ran away: his ID. The man approached an employee at Dillons, 1740 Mass., about 8 p.m. Tuesday and asked for change for a $100 bill, according to a report. While the employee was counting money, he also asked for a pack of cigarettes, then grabbed money from the register and ran. LPD spokeswoman Kim Murphree said he left behind “an item with identification.” Officers found David Thompson in the alley in the 1300 block of Connecticut Street and arrested him. They also found him in possession of suspected drug paraphernalia: a metal pipe containing a Brillo pad.Burglaries and thefts:¢ 600 block of Kentucky Street: A wide-angle lens valued at $5,000 was stolen from News TV corporation, 616 Ky., between Aug. 5 and Aug. 14.¢ 5100 block of Speicher Road: Three Kansas University students reported golf equipment, an iPod, and other items worth more than $4,500 total stolen from a vehicle between 7:30 p.m. Aug. 24 and 2 p.m. Aug. 25.¢ 1700 section of north 200 Road: A family member and two other people are suspected in the theft of more than $8,000 worth of property from a 66-year-old man’s outbuilding. It was reported Aug. 8 to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.-contributed by Eric Weslander.