A Wichita man has been sentenced to life in prison for having sexual relations with an underage girl. 52-year-old Stephan Crooks was sentenced under a state law known as “Jessica’s Law.”
Crooks made a guilty plea in early 2020, but he later moved to withdraw the plea. Sentencing was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic and District Judge David Dahl denied the request to withdraw the guilty plea.
Crooks was sentenced for one count of rape and one count of aggravated criminal sodomy. The sentences will run concurrently and Crooks will have to serve 554 months (over 46 years) in prison before he will be eligible for parole.
The crimes occurred between May, 2017 and October, 2018 in Wichita when the child was 12 and 13 years of age.
Jessica’s Law has been adopted in 46 states and it has stronger penalties for sex crimes involving minors. It is named after Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year-old Florida girl who was sexually assaulted and murdered by a twice-convicted sex offender.
