NATIONAL NEWS

Former Kansas police officer pleads guilty to sex assaults

Apr 11, 2023, 10:52 AM

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas police officer has pleaded guilty to a series of sexual assaults that prosecutors say occurred when he stopped his victims claiming to want to question them about drugs.

Todd W. Allen entered the guilty pleas Monday to 12 felony sex charges and five breach of privacy charges under a plea deal in which he must serve at least 20 years in prison and no more than 23 1/2 years, The Hutchinson News reported.

Allen is free on $250,000 bond and must wear an ankle monitor while he awaits sentencing in May, the report said. It said he waived his right to a jury trial and must registered as a sex offender as part of the plea deal.

Allen was arrested in August 2022 and originally charged with 17 felonies, including rape, sexual battery and indecent liberties with a child between the ages of 14 or 15, according to authorities. The assaults occurred between 2012 and 2018, while Allen was a Hutchinson police officer.

He also was charged with five misdemeanors of breach of privacy, which occurred after he resigned from the police force in 2019 and became a security guard at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center.

Court documents say there were 10 sexual assault victims.

Prosecutors said most of the victims were in cars with a friend, brother or boyfriend when Allen would ask the females to get out of the car. The assaults occurred while Allen questioned the victims about drugs, they said.

Allen was caught after he was seen on a citizen’s security tape looking over a fence. He had looked into windows on several prior occasions, according to court records.

Reno County District Attorney Thomas Stanton said Allen was not on duty during the sexual assaults.

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Former Kansas police officer pleads guilty to sex assaults