Las Vegas Sexual Assault Leads to Arrest of Man 25 Years Later

What happens in Las Vegas not only doesn’t stay in Vegas but it eventually catches up with you even if you live in another state, 25 years after the fact. This is the way the US justice system works, inexorably moving forward like the turtle in the parable. Now, thanks to a DNA test, the police have been able to track down Lawrence David Shaw, a Texas resident, who sexually assaulted a woman back in 1996 in a Las Vegas gaming parlor. He was originally looked up by police back that year, but he was not charged.

Arrested in Texas 25 Years Later

Shaw’s cold case led to his arrest by Hamilton County Sherriff deputies in his state of residence and he will now stand trial for assaulting a woman at the King 8 Hotel and Casino on West Tropicana Avenue, reports said. While the property is now defunct and has been transformed into the Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel, the case against Shaw is likely to stay.

Shaw has sternly denied any wrongdoing and argued that the victim and he had consensual sexual intercourse. However, he seems to have previously told police that he never had any physical relationship with the alleged victim. His most recent recollections of the accident, though, are not reliable and he seems to have poor memory of it. This is understandable as human memory is indeed unreliable evidence in criminology, especially after 25 years.

KLAS, the media outlet which reported extensively on the issue, said that there was a blood sample found on the victim that matched Shaw’s. The results were processed back in 2019. However, Shaw’s version of events on that day is not the most puzzling one. The victim herself was unable to produce a straight story, telling police officers four different accounts of those events. One of the most shocking ones was where Shaw told the victim to follow him into a truck where she was allegedly told to lie in a bed.

Disturbing Story with Few Blanks

Shaw then told her that she would never have to work again and that he would take care of her. Next, Shaw proceeded with a sexual attack. At an unspecified time, the victim was able to leave the truck. The victim and her husband later divorced over the accident, which makes the story even more bizarre.

When she was eventually contacted by police to bring up charges against Shaw, the victim said that she would press charges as she was both traumatized by the incident and Shaw’s alleged actions led to her divorce.

While KLAS did not elaborate on all the stories the victim gave police, there are still some unknowns, and the fact remains that Shaw’s DNA is a match based on that test. Crime in casinos has significantly decreased over the years, and gaming parlors in Las Vegas are significantly safer these days.