Abilene Man Convicted Of Child Sex Crime

An Abilene man has been found guilty of a child sex crime.

According to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, 46-year-old John R. Harwood Jr. on Thursday was convicted by a jury of aggravated criminal sodomy. Judge David R. Platt presided over the trial in Dickinson County District Court.

The charge involved a child under of the age of 14 and stemmed from an incident that occurred in May of 2012. Sentencing is scheduled for March 2, 2015, at 1:30 p.m. Harwood will be sentenced under provisions of Jessica’s Law, which carry a potential sentence of life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years.

The case was investigated by the Abilene Police Department and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Assistant Attorney General Christine Ladner prosecuted the case.