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Kihei man to be extradited to Oregon on child sex charges

WAILUKU — A Kihei man facing child sexual assault charges on Maui has agreed to be extradited to Oregon to face charges in a similar case.

Lawrence Schumacher, 67, had his Maui case dismissed Friday so it wouldn’t interfere with his extradition, said Deputy Prosecutor J.W. Hupp.

The dismissal was without prejudice, so the charges could be brought against Schumacher again.

He was arrested in August on a Maui County grand jury warrant charging him with continuous sexual assault of a minor and three counts of third-degree sexual assault of a child under age 14. The offenses occurred between September and December 2019, according to the indictment.

Schumacher posted a $200,000 bail bond to be released before he was arrested Feb. 16 in the Oregon case. A grand jury in Clackamas County, Ore., indicted him Dec. 4 on charges of first-degree sexual abuse and third-degree sexual abuse, according to court documents.

In the Oregon case, Schumacher is charged with committing a sexual offense in 2015, while he was a schoolteacher, by rubbing the inner thigh of a child under age 14, according to a motion filed in court by Hupp.

The motion said the Maui case alleged that Schumacher “committed sexual offenses, while in the position as a schoolteacher, by rubbing the inner thigh of a child under the age of 14.”

Schumacher had been a teacher at Kihei Elementary School but is no longer employed there, officials said.

After Schumacher was arrested and held without bail in the Oregon case, his bond was surrendered in the Maui case.

At a 2nd Circuit Court hearing Wednesday, Hupp said the Oregon case was going forward first because it would be handled more quickly than the Maui case. Trials in sexual assault cases are being conducted within four months in Oregon, Hupp said.

He said Oregon officials are expected to arrive next week to transport Schumacher to the state.

The fact that Schumacher was also being held in the Maui case could affect whether he would be extradited as scheduled, Hupp said in asking for the Maui case to be dismissed without prejudice Friday.

Judge Rhonda Loo granted the request.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.

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