Man gets 35 years for kidnapping Southeast student

A Chicago-area man was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison Tuesday on one count of kidnapping for abducting a Southeast Missouri State University student in Cape Girardeau in May.

Jeffrey M. Lazier, 43, admitted during a plea agreement in August he abducted the 22-year-old student at knifepoint as she sat in her vehicle in Cape County Park South in Cape Girardeau, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Missouri.

Lazier held the woman captive in his truck for more than six hours while driving in Missouri and Illinois, the news release states.

He sexually assaulted her repeatedly and forced her to obtain money from banks in Missouri and Illinois, according to the news release.

He originally faced felony charges of first-degree robbery, armed criminal action, first-degree sodomy and first-degree sexual abuse, according to previous Southeast Missourian stories.

The young women escaped near an Interstate 57 off-ramp near Effingham, Illinois, and ran toward motorists, screaming for help.

In Cape Girardeau, the victim's vehicle was examined for evidence, and a fingerprint that matched Lazier's was lifted from the car door. Images of Lazier and the victim also were captured on at least one bank surveillance camera.

The FBI arrested Lazier in Yorkville, Illinois, on May 15.

U.S. District Judge John Ross took into account Lazier's previous criminal record, including a 2007 conviction for aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a 4-year-old child, the news release stated.

Ross described the facts in the kidnapping case as horrific, and he imposed a 35-year sentence to ensure Lazier would never have another opportunity to commit a similar crime, the news release stated.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

2400 County Park Drive, Cape Girardeau, Mo