Holt gets life in prison

Clad in an orange jumpsuit, Derek Holt entered the courtroom Friday afternoon for sentencing after being convicted of aggravated indecent liberties with a child in late September.

Holt, 28, was given a life sentence Friday afternoon in the Bourbon County District Court after being convicted of aggravated indecent liberties with a child late last month. Holt was arrested in January 2007 after being accused of raping a 3-year-old child in 2006, according to Bourbon County Court records. The trial took place last September which ended in the conviction, however a mistrial was declared on the count of rape due to the jury's indecision.

Mark Fern, Holt's attorney, made a motion to request a retrial based on the jury's indecision. Fern said the jury's unanimous decision on the charge of aggravated indecent liberties with a child and the inability to agree on the rape charge was "contradictory."

Bourbon County Attorney Terri Johnson said Fern's statements were implying jury misconduct, and that he has not gone through the proper process to investigate the theory. Fern's argument is not an issue because he also passed the jurors prior to the trial, Johnson added.

In accordance with 2006 Session Laws Ch. 212, Sec. 11, also known as Jessica's Law, Holt's conviction carries a life sentence with a mandatory minimum of 25 years of imprisonment. Fern made a motion for a sentencing departure due to the fact that the conviction is Holt's first offense and he has no prior criminal history. The motion was denied by Judge Mark Ward saying that Holt's lack of criminal history is not enough to disregard the law.

Ward ruled to waive the fees assessed to Holt, such as the fingerprint fee, attorney fee, etc. Ward also granted the time Holt has already served in the Southeast Kansas Regional Correctional Center toward his sentence. A no contact order was also issued for the victim, along with the victim's father, grandmother, and brother. Holt must also be registered as a sex offender.

Holt has the right to appeal his sentence which must be done within the next 10 days. Johnson said that after talking with the victim's father, the state will not seek a retrial of the rape charge.