BY JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
A 21-year-old Hays man was sentenced to five and a half years in prison Wednesday in Ellis County District Court for a pair of child sex crimes.
Christopher Lynn Cox, 21, was sentenced to 66 months in prison for criminal sodomy and sexual battery.
Cox was also originally charged with rape but that charge was dropped as a result of the plea agreement reached in March.
The charges stemmed from two separate incidents in February 2020. Court documents accused Cox of providing alcohol and having sex with a 14-year-old girl on Feb. 17. He contacted the victim with the phone app Snapchat, according to the county attorney.
Cox was also charged with inappropriately touching a 16-year-old without her consent on Feb. 1.
Cox was initially expected to be sentenced to 59 months in prison but Ellis County Attorney Robert Anderson said Cox’s criminal history was different than expected so that changed the prison time to 66 months.
Once he is released from prison, Cox will be required to register as a sex offender for life and will be subject to post-release supervision, formerly parole, for life.
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ELLIS COUNTY —A suspect currently awaiting trial for sex-related crimes in Colorado was arrested at a Hays motel on suspicion of rape.
At 1:08 a.m. Friday, Feb. 14, an officer with the Hays Police Department observed a 14-year-old girl exiting a room during a routine patrol at the Rodeway Inn, 3404 Vine, according to Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler.
After making contact with the minor, officers found she appeared intoxicated and began an investigation.
Christopher Lynn Cox, 20, was found in the room and, after questioning, was arrested.
Cox is being held in the Ellis County jail in lieu of a $150,000 bond on suspicion of rape, aggravated indecent liberties with a child, and unlawfully hosting a minor consuming alcoholic liquor or cereal malt beverage.
A no-contact order with the victim has also been put in place, according to Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees.
Cox is currently awaiting trial stemming from offenses in Prowers County, Colorado.
He pleaded not guilty to assault in the third degree and unlawful sexual contact in the case that was set for trial in April in Lamar, Colo.
"This is just good police work," Scheibler said. "The officers were up there being proactive and on patrol, they got out to speak to an individual and saw something potentially suspicious and made contact."
"That investigation allowed us to recover a 14-year-old girl and make sure she was safe and helped us put a sex offender in jail," he said.
Drees said the victim was contacted by Cox via a phone app called Snapchat and encouraged parents to monitor their children's social media accounts.