Last Wednesday night officers from the Lake Orion Police Department arrested James Edwin Shull, 39, of Lake Orion, on eight counts of criminal sexual conduct against children.
Shull, a previously convicted and registered sex offender, was arrested without incident at his Lake Orion residence.
‘The damage and pain this individual has wreaked upon these children deserves the full measure and weight of our legal system,? said Lake Orion Police Chief Jerry Narsh. ‘This is the type of crime that causes society to have jail cells. This is the reason for prisons.?
Shull was arraigned last Friday before Magistrate Clem Waldmann at 52-3 District Court in Rochester Hills on six counts of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree, a 15-year felony, involving assaults on two different children between the ages of 11 and 12 (1 girl and 1 boy).
In addition, he was charged with 2 counts of criminal sexual conduct in the fourth degree, a two-year misdemeanor (female victim age 13-15).
Shull’s bond was set at $250,000.00 cash and he is currently at the Oakland County Jail pending a preliminary exam.
In 2002, Shull was convicted of three counts of criminal sexual conduct in the fourth degree in Genessee County. Last year, he was convicted of a felony for failing to register as a sex offender in Genessee County.
Narsh said Shull has criminal convictions starting in 1989. He spent less than two years in prison on the previous sex offender conviction and received only six months probation on the failing to register his conviction.
According to police, Shull has maintained his address verifications while living in Lake Orion. He is not married but resides with an adult female friend.
‘This arrest has removed from society a repeat sexual predator on children,? Narsh said, crediting Lake Orion Police Officers Robert Barker and Todd Stanfield with the investigation and arrest of Shull.
Their investigation revealed that Shull had befriended the mother of one of the victims and had convinced the parent to allow the children to ride along with him at night while he delivered newspapers for a daily paper in the area.
According to Narsh, Shull paid the children to assist him on his paper delivery. Police claim that Shull molested the victims both during the paper deliveries in the vehicle and later back at his Lake Orion residence.
Narsh said the other parents were not aware that their children were with Shull at any time and they had no knowledge of him.
‘The methods used to entice these children and to befriend the parent is a warning to all parents,? Narsh said. ‘Do not allow your children to spend time, let alone stay the night with an adult male whom you barely know.?
One of the victims alerted police, triggering the investigation.
Narsh is asking anyone who recognizes Shull as a person who has spent time with them or their children to contact the Lake Orion Police Department at (248)693-8321.