Sex Offender Pleads Guilty To Sex Acts With Teen At East County Motel

EL CAJON, CA — One of two registered sex offenders charged with engaging in sex acts with a 16-year-old girl at an El Cajon motel has pleaded guilty to several felony sex crime counts.

Lawrence Cantrell, 35, is expected to be sentenced next month to nearly five years in state prison for the March 2023 encounter with the minor at the Motel 6 on Montrose Court.

Cantrell's co-defendant, 71-year-old Michael Inman, is slated to go to trial next week on similar charges.

Police first learned of the incident after an employee for homeless services provider People Assisting the Homeless — or PATH — told police that in a phone conversation, Cantrell admitted to sex acts with the girl.

Further investigation led to the discovery of a video on each man's cell phone allegedly showing the juvenile engaging in sex acts with Inman, police said.

At a preliminary hearing held last year in El Cajon Superior Court, defense attorneys for both men argued their clients believed the girl was 18.

Both men have previously been convicted of sex offenses.

Inman was convicted of assault with intent to commit rape in 1978 in Orange County and lewd acts upon a child in 2005 in San Diego County. Cantrell was convicted of possession of child pornography in 2018 in San Diego County.

— City News Service