WACO, Texas (KWTX) – A former Waco martial arts instructor who eluded authorities as a fugitive for more than three decades was sentenced to eight years in prison Thursday in the 1987 sexual assault of a teenager.
Richard Dennis Lancaster, 65, pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault in an incident involving a 13-year-old martial arts student.
McLennan County records show Lancaster was never arrested in the 1987 assault and fled the country after his indictment in January 1989.
Lancaster moved to Mexico for about 10 years, where he operated another martial arts studio, and is alleged to have sexually assaulted at least one of his students there, authorities have said.
After leaving Mexico, he lived in Indonesia for 15 years before his arrest in October 2020 at a Houston airport by a U.S. Marshal’s Service fugitive task force.
Lancaster was arrested in McLennan County in 1986 on another sexual assault charge. That charge was reduced to misdemeanor criminal trespass in 1987, and Lancaster was placed on deferred probation and fined $500, according to court records.
He completed his time on probation and was discharged in October 1987, records show.
Lancaster must earn credit for serving at least four years in prison and will be given credit for the 1,423 days he has spent in the McLennan County Jail waiting for his case to be resolved.
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