Lawrence man to stand trial for allegedly raping child 17 years ago

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal World

Lance Yoder will appear in Douglas County District Court on Wednesday, November 6, 2024.

A Lawrence man was ordered to stand trial Wednesday on two counts of rape for crimes that allegedly occurred 17 years ago.

The defendant, Lance Yoder, 54, was originally charged with three counts of rape, but one charge was dismissed in June because it was barred by the statute of limitations. Journal-World reports this.

At that preliminary hearing in June, a 27-year-old woman testified that Yoder repeatedly sexually assaulted her when she was a young child. The woman said she decided earlier this year to speak out about the abuse, which allegedly occurred in 2007 and 2008, because she felt it was important that Yoder would never be alone with other children.

In addition to the woman’s testimony, Judge Amy Hanley heard a recorded conversation between the woman and Yoder in which the two discuss the alleged abuse and Yoder apologizes, saying, “I regret everything I did that hurt you.” In the recording, made with the help of police, Yoder does not deny touching her inappropriately, but claims he “immediately stopped” when she asked him to. He is also heard blaming “a black man” for an act of rape she accused him of while she slept.

Another woman, whose case was dismissed, also testified in June that she too was abused by Yoder as a child.

Yoder, through his attorney Branden Smith, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, and Hanley scheduled his trial for April 7, 2025.

Like the Journal-World reports thisYoder had been employed as a janitor by the Lawrence school district since September 2022 and was assigned to Schwegler Elementary School, according to district spokesperson Julie Boyle. Boyle said he was a night watchman and last worked on Feb. 28.

Yoder has been fired from the district and his alleged crimes from the early 2000s are not related to his later work in the district. In March, he was issued a $100,000 personal recognizance bond.