1065: William Lee Lawshe – Charges Dropped – Republican Sexual Predators

William Lee Lawshe was a Florida Fish and Wildlife officer. He was named FWC Officer of the Year and then in 2014 was named the national Officer of the Year by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies after rescuing a man trapped in a swamp for days. When the police contacted him, he resigned before he was fired.

The police received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The connected the phone to Lawshe and he confirmed it was his phone and in his possession. They found what they thought was CSAM on the phone.

In April, 2023, he was arrested and charged with possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material. He was charged with three felony counts of possession of a sexual performance by a child and released on bail. At the end of the December, 2024, the prosecution dropped the case the material in Lawshe possession was of an adult who looked young.

According to a lawsuit filed by Lawshe, the material he had in his possession was watermarked to show it came from an adults-only site and the person merely looked young according to a scale that his attorneys argue misidentifies adults as minors.

Now he is suing Verizon who initially tipped the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. This case will be worth following because I can see it discouraging phone companies and others from reporting real predators to the authorities.

You can track his case at St. John’s Clerk of Court: CA24-0049 – LAWSHE, WILLIAM LEE vs. VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS, INC