Sexual Offender Arrested in Missing Louisiana Student Case
7/6/2012
Released to Public by Michaela's Family(CHURCH POINT, La.) -- A registered sex offender has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the disappearance of University of Louisiana senior Michaela "Mickey" Shunick.
Cops arrested Brandon Scott Lavergne, 33, on Thursday at his home in Church Point, La., just six miles from where Shunick was last seen riding her bike. Lavergne has been charged with first degree murder and aggravated kidnapping.
Police would not comment on how they connected Lavergne to the Shunick case.
ABC News has learned that Lavergne appears on the Louisiana State Police website as a registered sex offender. The website says Lavergne was convicted in 2000 of aggravated oral sexual battery. He was released from prison in 2008.
A 1 p.m. press conference is scheduled for Friday.
Shunick was last seen leaving her friend Brettly Wilson's house on her bike just before 2 a.m. on May 19. More than a week after she went missing, surveillance video showed her on a bicycle the night she disappeared. Police were trying to track down information about a white pickup truck seen on the same video.
On the sex offender website, Lavergne is listed as having a white 2011 Chevrolet Silverado.
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