A man in Smith County in north central Kansas is sentenced to serve seven presumptive life sentences in prison for convictions of child sexual abuse.

 Colter J. Ducote was sentenced on October 31 after being convicted on seven counts of violations of Jessica's Law. Ducote was convicted by a Smith County jury in August. The case was investigated by the Smith County Sheriff's Office and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation Child Victims Unit beginning in July 2023.  The victim was 11 years old when she reported the abuse by Ducote beginning at the age of six.

In Kansas, Jessica's Law increases the consequences for sex crimes against minors. The law is named after Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year-old girl who was kidnapped and murdered by a registered sex offender in 2005. The mandatory minimum sentence is 25 years-to-life on each of the seven counts of conviction. Ducote will be required to serve two of the counts consecutively for a mandatory term of 50 years-to-life.