SMITH COUNTY – A man was convicted and sentenced in Smith County following a Kansas Bureau of Investigation case, according to a media release from the agency.
Smith County Attorney, Tabitha Owen, announced that a Smith County man 29-year-old Colter J. Ducote 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 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 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.
On October 31, Ducote was sentenced 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.