Pawnee County Attorney
LARNED – Nicholas Andrew Stape, 46, appeared Wednesday afternoon in the Pawnee County District Court for an evidentiary preliminary hearing on felony charges related to an ongoing investigation by Larned State Hospital (LSH) investigative staff into the trafficking of contraband in the Sexual Predator Treatment program (SPTP) located on the campus of Larned State Hospital.
Testimony presented at the hearing indicated LSH safety and security staff were first notified on September 18, 2025, about concerns that a current SPTP resident, Nicholas Andrew Stape, had started following local teenagers on the TikTok social media platform.
A search of Stape’s room the following day did not locate the device utilized to access the internet, but unique items were seized that matched items seen in photos and videos posted to the social media account in question.
A broken cellular telephone was subsequently found on September 19, 2025, in a bathroom on the unit by SPTP resident Timothy W. Roberts, 47. Roberts testified on behalf of the State that when he learned about the allegation that Stape had possibly used the phone to reach out to underage children, he became emotional and physically confronted Stape.
Roberts denied providing a cellular phone to Stape but admitted selling a cellular phone to another resident for $3,000.I
t is against the rules and regulations of LSH for any patient to possess cellular telephones or digital storage device.
An October 9, 2025, room search of SPTP resident Albrandon Louis Fields, 48, located a cellular telephone and two SD cards. It was later determined the SD cards contained images and videos of Stape that were consistent with those posted to the social media account in question.
Fields, testifying on behalf of the State, told the Court that Stape had assisted him with setting up a Facebook account, but Fields denied making the videos in question or even being aware the images were on the SD cards that he had recently purchased from Roberts.
The LSH Special Investigator testified Stape admitted he used another resident’s cellular telephone to make social media content with the intent of promoting a book Stape had written.
Stape denied actually uploading the content to TikTok.
Following the presentation of evidence, Magistrate Judge Dale Snyder found the State presented sufficient evidence to support the charges against Stape and bound the defendant over to the higher court on one count of Trafficking Contraband in a Care & Treatment Facility and one count of Conspiracy to Traffic Contraband in a Care & Treatment Facility. Arraignment has been scheduled for September 21, 2026.
If convicted of the current felony charges, under the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines for Non-Drug Offenses the defendant faces between 17 months and 46 months in the custody of the Kansas Department of Corrections depending on his criminal history.
Stape remains in the custody of SPTP.
In 2016, the Kansas Legislature exempted individuals committed to the SPTP program from the requirement of updating their Kansas Offender Registration until they are placed in a reintegration facility, on transitional release or, on conditional release.
Under the Kansas Offender Registration Act, registered sex offenders are required to report in person every three months to the registering law enforcement agency in the county in which they reside, maintain employment or attend school. As part of the quarterly registration, offenders are required to disclose to law enforcement, among other things, any and all e-mail addresses; online identities used by the offender on the internet; information relating to membership in any and all personal web pages or online social networks; and internet screen names.
Four SPTP residents have been charged as a result of the ongoing investigation: Stape, Fields, Roberts and Johny R. Palacioz, Jr., 47.
LSH has been assisted in the investigation by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.