Clerk fired for checking beau's background

September 4, 2005

Little Rock - A former clerk at the Arkansas Crime Information Center says she carried out illegal criminal-background checks on her boyfriend, the Pulaski County prosecutor's office says.

Martha Lounell Lawrence of Little Rock was fired after ACIC officials realized she had searched the criminal database six times for information on the man between May 27, 2004, and June 21, 2004, according to Deputy Prosecutor Geoff Thompson.

The ACIC provides criminal-history information to the state's 250 law enforcement agencies. It also collects and publishes statistics on crime and manages the crime-victim notification system, missing-persons database and the state sex-offender registry. Almost all of the ACIC data is available only to law enforcement agencies.

Lawrence, 22, pleaded guilty last week in Pulaski County Circuit Court to a charge of disclosure of crime-center records to unauthorized people. Under the plea agreement, she was sentenced by Judge Willard Proctor Jr. to 13 months' probation and a $200 fine.

Thompson said he did not know why Lawrence ran the checks on her boyfriend, who has not been accused of a crime.

Paula Stitz, who oversees misuse investigations for the ACIS, said the FBI discovered the illegal checks.

A cell phone number for Lawrence was not functioning Friday, and her attorney, Gregory E. Bryant of Little Rock, was out of his office.

Source: KansasCity.com; http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/12563017.htm

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