A sick father is going to prison for 20 years after he got his young daughter pregnant
In April 2026 Lawrence Drumgoole, 67, pled guilty to first degree statutory rape. He raped his adopted daughter multiple times when she was just 7-years-old and eventually got her pregnant in Charlotte, NC.
In 2006, the girl was 5-years-old and was placed in foster care with Drumgoole and his wife around age 5 when the family was living in New York. Drumgoole began to sexually abuse the girl when she was 7.
After the girl was formally adopted around age 10, the family moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where the sexual abuse continued. Drumgoole made the girl perform oral sex and he had sex with her on several occasions.
Eventually the girl became pregnant at the age of 12 due to Drumgoole impregnating her. At age 13,
the girl gave birth to a baby girl.
Drumgoole continued to abuse the girl until she was 16 years old. In 2024 when the female victim was an adult she went to police to report the rape and sexual abuse done to her by the suspect.
Drumgoole denied any sexual contact with the victim and claimed not to know the paternity of
their child.
DNA and paternity testing conducted in 2024 confirmed Drumgoole as the father of the
victim’s child. Detectives obtained buccal swabs from the victim, the victim’s child, and Lawrence. The swabs were sent to the Western Lab for DNA testing.
On October 15, 2024 police received the results of the DNA testing. The lab report indicated that Lawrence is 796 billion times more likely the father of the victim’s child. The suspect was arrested in the same month charged with child rape crimes.
In 2026 Drumgoole pled guilty to the rape offenses. Judge Robert Bell sentenced him to 192-243 months in prison. He must also register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
