11:30 AM PDT on Friday, August 27, 2004

By ABE ESTIMADA and ANTONIA GIEDWOYN, kgw.com Staff

OREGON CITY -- A convicted sex offender who lived with a Molalla, Ore. runaway in Montana until they were caught earlier this month was sentenced to six months in jail on Friday.

Christopher Stephen French, previously known as Douglas French, appeared in court Friday morning, during which time a Clackamas County judge ruled that French had violated his probation on an earlier charge.

kgw.com David French, seen here in a 1999 police mug shot.

On Thursday, French pleaded not guilty to one count of custodial interference. He made his plea Thursday in Clackamas County circuit court. The judge also set a trial date on the charge for Oct. 14.

French is accused of running off with 17-year-old Cyndi Lamb last October. Police found the pair living in Missoula, Montana on Aug. 6.

After being extradited back to Oregon on Aug. 18, French was jailed for probation violations related to forgery and sex abuse. Oregon records show French, 34, has been arrested on auto theft, forgery and sex abuse charges over the past six years.

kgw.com Cynthia Lee Lamb, seen in this family photo.

Lamb disappeared last October after she was seen leaving a library a Molalla library with a man police believe was French. Police believe Lamb was trying to run away and asked different men on Internet chat rooms to help in her escape.

A search by police that included dog teams and dozens of volunteers turned into a missing person investigation after the teenager called her stepmother in late November to say she was alright.