TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas House committee rejected a proposed law that sought to prevent judges from reducing sentences if they believe that victims under the age of 14 were willing participants in sex crimes.
The bill was proposed by Attorney General Derek Schmidt after a county judge in December gave a 67-year-old man a shorter sentence than prosecutors sought for soliciting a 13-year-old girl on Facebook. Leavenworth County District Judge Michael Gibbens was publicly criticized after he said young girls were more aggressor than a participant during sexual encounters with…
