Suspicious mom hid cameras. Now Pasco ‘bikini barista’ owner charged with child sex crimes
The owner of a Pasco coffee shop featuring baristas wearing bikinis was jailed in Tacoma this week on 12 felony charges of child molestation, rape and providing drugs to a minor.
Lawrence Lee Rawdon, 59, of Buckley, owns Hot Beans Espresso, 2517 W. Sylvester St., in Pasco.
The Buckley Police Department began investigating last fall after a woman suspected Rawdon was molesting her adolescent daughter. The mother, who is not identified in court documents, hid cameras in her home that reportedly recorded numerous incidents where Rawdon had sexual contact with the victim, according to court documents.
The woman provided Buckley Police with two USB drives containing 13 videos dated between Sept. 20 and Oct. 12, 2023.
The affidavit of probable cause with the charges filed Jan. 25 said the videos showed Rawdon inappropriately touching the girl and sharing marijuana with her. The victim told interviewers the sexual abuse was frequent and had been happening for some time.
Rawdon was served with a court order in October to not contact the girl, but officials say he used the social media platform TikTok to ask her for photos of herself, according to a complaint filed by her mother.
Prosecutors report Rawdon continued to send messages into December. Search warrants on TikTok and Meta linked the accounts to Rawdon, showed court documents.
Bail is set at $750,000. He remained in the Pierce County jail on Friday.
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