De Soto man faces life in prison for child sex crimes against girl in his care

LAWRENCE, Kan. (WIBW) - A De Soto man faces life in prison following a child sex crimes conviction in Lawrence in which he violated a girl in his care.

Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez says on Friday, Aug. 5, that a jury convicted Kenneth W. Mills, 35, of De Soto, on one count of aggravated sodomy of a child.

DA Valdez noted that the conviction stems from incidents that happened throughout 2010 and 2011 in which Mills engaged in sexual conduct with a female child in his care and living in his Lawrence home.

“My hope is that today’s verdict provides a measure of justice to the courageous survivors who came forward,” Valdez said. “This was a challenging case and I am grateful for law enforcement’s thorough investigation and for the skillful prosecution that it took to hold Kenneth Mills accountable. The victimization of those most vulnerable in our community will not be tolerated.”

The DA indicated that the State was represented by Deputy District Attorney Joshua Seiden and Assistant District Attorney Paula Bustamante. The case was investigated by the Lawrence Police Department’s Special Victims Unit and the Kansas Department for Children and Families.

A status conference has been set by District Judge Sally Pokorny for 4 p.m. on Aug. 31, in the Douglas Co. Judicial and Law Enforcement Center.

Valdez said Mills faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years.