SMITH COUNTY – A man was convicted and sentenced in Smith County following a Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) case.
Smith County Attorney, Tabitha Owen, announced today that a Smith County man has been sentenced to seven presumptive life sentences after being convicted by a jury on seven counts of Jessica’s Law child sexual abuse charges. On Aug. 12, 2024, a Smith County jury trial convened and concluded on Aug. 14, 2024 with the guilty verdict. The case was prosecuted by Smith County Attorney Tabitha Owen, with the assistance of Special Prosecutors Marc Bennett and Ron Paschal, of Sedgwick County.
The case was investigated by the KBI after a request for assistance from the Smith County Sheriff’s Office on July 24, 2023. A Special Agent assigned to the KBI West Child Victims Unit led the investigation regarding allegations that Colter J. Ducote had committed the sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14. Ducote was convicted of seven counts of child sexual abuse, including; rape, aggravated criminal sodomy, and aggravated indecent liberties with a child. The victim was 11 years old when she reported the sexual abuse by Ducote beginning at the age of six.
Ducote was sentenced on Oct. 31, 2024, to a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years-to-life on each of the seven counts of conviction; two counts will be served consecutively for a mandatory term of 50 years-to-life.
