PAWNEE COUNTY —A Kansas felon will spend the rest of his life in prison for sex crimes involving juveniles.
On Wednesday, James Edwin Speer, 33 formerly of Larned appeared in custody before Pawnee County District Judge Bruce Gatterman for felony sentencing, according to Pawnee County Attorney Doug McNett.
In July, a jury found Speer was found Speer guilty of Rape of a Child Under 14 years of age and of Aggravated Oral Sodomy of a Child Under 14 years of age.
The crimes were alleged to have occurred at a residence in Garfield, Kansas on or about May 25th or 26th in 2013.
Testimony was presented at trial that during a conversation with her mother in August of 2020 the victim disclosed that, when she was approximately 8 years old, she had been sexually assaulted at party her father took her to. The Pawnee County Sheriff’s Department was then notified about the allegations by the mother. A formal forensic interview of the girl was performed by the Child Advocacy Center in Great Bend, Kansas.
At trial, the defendant presented an Alibi defense arguing it was impossible for him to have committed the alleged acts as he was with another girl at the time. As part of the evidence at trial, the parties stipulated that in 2015 a jury convicted Speer, of two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a 14 year old child. Specifically, the jury found Speer had sexual intercourse with a 14 year old child in an apartment in Larned in May or June of 2013; and he had sexual intercourse with a 14 year old child in an apartment in Larned in June of 2013.
Based on the age of the victim, under Jessica’s Law the presumptive sentence was a life sentence with a mandatory requirement the defendant serve a minimum of 25 years. As part of his opportunity to address the Court at sentencing, Speer denied he had committed the newly convicted offenses and requested the Court consider the efforts he has made in prison to reform himself and sentence him to a reduced sentence such that he could be released in 2027.
Pawnee County Attorney Douglas McNett argued that based on Speer’s other prior sexually violent crimes the Court should find that Speer is an Aggravated Habitual Sex Offender and sentence the defendant to life without the possibility of parole.
After reviewing the presentence investigation report and hearing the arguments presented, Judge Gatterman agreed with the State that Speer met the statutory criteria of an Aggravated Habitual Sex Offender having been convicted of at least two prior sexually violent crimes. As such, the Court sentenced the defendant to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The defendant will also be subject to lifetime offender registration as a sex offender.
Under Kansas sentencing laws, all prior convictions which occur prior to sentencing in the current case are considered in determining criminal history, regardless of whether the offense that led to the prior conviction occurred before or after the current offense or the conviction in the current case.
Speer is currently in the custody of the Kansas Department of Corrections serving a sentence for his 2015 Pawnee County sex offense convictions. Following the sentencing, the defendant was advised of his rights to appeal the convictions and sentence imposed.
The Court previously denied the defense motion for a new trial at a hearing conducted on August 22, 2024.
Pawnee County Attorney Douglas McNett presented the State’s case. Speer was represented by Joe Shepack of Great Bend, Kansas.