By Sven Gustafson The Associated Press
DETROIT – An Ohio man and a convicted murderer have been charged in the sexual assaults of 14 juveniles during the 1970s and 1980s, authorities said yesterday.
The alleged crimes were uncovered with the help of a task force investigating the “Oakland County Child Killer” case, but authorities cautioned that the new charges are not related to the unsolved killings of the four suburban Detroit children in 1976 and 1977.
Theodore Lamborgine, 65, of Parma Heights, Ohio, was arrested Wednesday in Ohio on 17 counts and is accused of assaulting eight juveniles. He was in the process of being extradited to Michigan for his arraignment.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy authorized 28 counts of criminal sexual conduct against Richard Lawson, 60, an inmate serving a life sentence without parole for a 1989 murder conviction. He is accused of assaulting six juveniles.
The men face a maximum life in prison if convicted.
“This case reminds us that child molestation can affect a victim’s life forever,” Worthy said in a statement. “We know there are probably more victims of Lamborgine and Lawson, and we urge them to come forward no matter how long ago the crime occurred.”
Worthy said the charges are the result of a two-year investigation.
Lawson was found guilty of first-degree murder and armed robbery in March in the 1989 death of Exavor Giller, 67. The owner of a cab company, where Lawson once worked, was shot and killed outside his Livonia home.
Investigators around the same time said they hoped information Lawson provided would lead them to the killer of the four children.
Eleven-year-old Timothy King, of Birmingham; 12-year-old Mark Stebbins, of Ferndale; 12-year-old Jill Robinson, of Royal Oak; and 10-year-old Kristine Mihelich, of Berkley were suffocated between February 1976 and March 1977. Their bodies were found after each went missing for periods ranging from three to 19 days. Two had been raped, and one also was shot in the face with a shotgun.
Officials plan to hold a news conference Monday to further discuss the case.
