NORTON – A Norton man has been sentenced to life in prison for child sex crimes and rape, according to Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
Mark Scheetz, 32, was sentenced Tuesday in Norton County District Court to two Jessica’s Law counts of aggravated criminal sodomy with a child younger than 14 years of age, as well as two counts of rape. District Judge Preston Pratt sentenced Scheetz to life in prison.
Scheetz will be not eligible for parole for a minimum of 50 years. He was also sentenced to 32 months for sexual exploitation of a child and six months for intimidating a witness. Scheetz worked as a school resource officer in a Kansas City, Kansas school at the time of his arrest. He had also previously worked for the sheriff's department in Sheridan County.
Scheetz was convicted by a jury in April on all counts. The crimes took place between 2012 and 2015 in Norton County.
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BONNER SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a school resource officer in Kansas City, Kansas, has been charged with child sex crimes.
Mark Scheetz, of Lansing, faces two counts of rape and two counts of aggravated criminal sodomy. The Kansas Attorney General’s Office filed the charges last week in Norton County District Court. His bond is set at $500,000.
Charging documents say Scheetz had sex with a child under the age of 14 several years ago while he was living in the county.
The Kansas City, Kansas, district has its own police department. The school district said last week that it placed Scheetz on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation.
Before coming there, Scheetz worked for the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office from 2016 to 2018.