INDIANAPOLIS — The man charged in connection with two Monon Trail sexual assaults has now been charged in a 2016 child sexual assault case in Lawrence.
Larry Duerson Jr., 27, faces two counts of rape and two counts of child molesting, all Level 1 felonies, in the February 2016 case.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears announced the charges Thursday after DNA evidence connected Duerson to the previously unsolved case.
According to court documents, a 13-year-old child woke up to find someone sexually assaulting them in their bedroom in February 2016. The attacker entered through a cut window screen and threatened to shoot the child and everyone in the house if they made noise.
The assault lasted 45 minutes to an hour, according to the probable cause affidavit. The attacker told the victim he knew where they went to school and what bus they rode.
A DNA hit in 2019 matched Duerson's DNA to evidence collected from the 2016 investigation. Detective work showed Duerson lived in the same neighborhood as the victim at the time of the assault.
"The accusations in this case are every parent's and survivor's worst nightmare," Mears said in a statement. "After all these years, we are finally able to provide some answers and hope for the survivor."
Duerson was previously charged with nine felonies in connection with two Monon Trail attacks in August. He's being held on $400,000 bond.
The court documents show Duerson has failed to appear in three prior cases and has been convicted of failing to return to lawful detention and resisting law enforcement.
