Lauramore

A circuit judge on March 26 sentenced a Macclenny man to life in prison for multiple rapes of a girl under the age of 12 during a six-month period in late 2005 to mid-2006.

A six member jury of four women and two men convicted Charlton Dewayne Lauramore, 46, following a trial on March 14. An earlier trial in August, 2012 ended in a mistrial when a judge feared closing remarks by public defender George Nelson could prejudice the jury.

The sentencing was handled by Judge Thomas Jaworski, who sits on the county bench in Alachua County.

Similar to the earlier trial, the jury heard from the victim, who was 10 and 11 years old at the time, testifying that she was raped on at least five occasions.

She brought the incidents to light while Mr. Lauramore was in state prison in Holmes County and he was re-arrested while still in custody. He has a criminal history of violent behavior, including a 2001 case where he was sentenced for false imprisonment of a female after initially being charged with sexual battery.

Baker County High School varsity football coach Ryan Sulkowski was suspended without pay for ten days for using a school district credit card to purchase alcoholic beverages at a Clay County restaurant in February.

School Superintendent Sherrie Raulerson said the suspension that began last week and runs through spring break this week was “the stiffest penalty I could give under the circumstances.”

“He should not have put the alcohol on the card; it’s not acceptable,” said Ms. Raulerson in an interview last week. I didn’t feel this was an offense punishable by death (firing him) but I lost some sleep and prayed before deciding this was the best way to put this behind us.

“At the same time, I wanted to send a strong message to employees of the district that behavior like this won’t be tolerated.”

Coach Sulkowski, recruited to Baker County from Colorado three years ago, advised BCHS bookkeeper Terry Langford of the charge before the credit card bill reached the school at month’s end.