Cayuga County deputy charged with raping minors
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Cayuga county deputy charged with multiple counts of rape of a minor
Updated: Jul. 04, 2026, 1:40 p.m.
|Published: Jul. 04, 2026, 8:53 a.m.
Hunter Lawrence pictured at his graduation from the Syracuse Regional Police Academy in 2023.Cayuga County Sheriff's Office
Greta Stuckey | gstuckey@syracuse.com
Auburn, N.Y. — State Police arrested a Cayuga County Sheriff’s Office deputy Friday, charging him with multiple counts of rape involving a victim younger than 17.
Hunter R. Lawrence, 25, of Auburn, was arrested following an investigation into an inappropriate relationship with a minor, according to a State Police news release Saturday.
The investigation determined Lawrence engaged in multiple sexual encounters with a victim younger than 17 over an extended period. troopers said. The incidents occurred over a period of time as the victim aged, resulting in multiple charges under different statutes based on the victim’s age at the time of each incident, they said.
State Police did not say whether the victim was a boy or girl.
There are no allegations the conduct occurred while he was on duty, troopers said.
Lawrence joined the sheriff’s office in 2023 as a patrol deputy, according to a sheriff’s office Facebook post.
State Police worked closely with Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck, who was notified of the allegations.
On Friday, Lawrence was placed on paid administrative leave and relieved of all law enforcement duties, including his authority to carry a firearm, according to a statement released Saturday by Schenck.
The Sheriff’s Office has opened its own administrative investigation to determine whether Lawrence violated the agency’s policies, procedures or standards of conduct, Schenck said.
Lawrence was charged with:
Two counts of second-degree rape, felonies.
Two counts of third-degree rape, felonies.
Endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.
Second-degree rape in New York is defined as a person who is 18 years old or older who engages in sexual conduct with a person under 15 years old.
Third-degree rape is someone who is 21 years old or older engaging in sexual conduct with a person who is less than 17 years old.
Lawrence was processed at the State Police barracks in Homer and transported to the Cortland County Jail to await centralized arraignment, troopers said. As of Saturday morning, Lawrence was no longer in jail, according to online jail records.