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JCPAO Press Releases

Posted on: April 1, 2023

Eastern Jackson County man sentenced to consecutive life sentences for sex crimes

For Immediate Release
April 1, 2023

A Jackson County judge on Friday sentenced a 44-year-old Eastern Jackson County man to four consecutive life sentences in prison for his convictions in multiple sex crimes, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced.

John Leland Phelps, dob: Dec. 21, 1978, was sentenced to life sentences for four convictions of Statutory Rape and Sodomy. The judge also sentenced Phelps to seven years and four years for Incest convictions. A Jackson County jury returned guilty verdicts in February on six felony charges.

According to court records, the sexual assaults occurred in September 2018 in an eastern Jackson County residence.

Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys Erin Hunt, Arthur Bridgens and Kent Stejskal prosected the case on behalf of the state of Missouri.

Disclaimer Statement in cases of Sexual Assault to Reflect a Victim-Centered Approach: To protect the identity of the victim, we redact pronouns, age, home address, occupation and relationship to the defendant, or other identifying information that does not override a legitimate public interest. We request that only necessary information be provided to the public in a way that does not identify or further harm the victim. In rare cases, we will redact the name of the defendant in our public release- to protect the identity of the victim. Additional details are available upon request.

For more information, contact:

Michael Mansur, Director of Communication
Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office
Jean Peters Baker, Prosecutor
Work : (816) 881-3812
Mobile : (816) 674-3954
www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com
mmansur@jacksongov.org

Charging Document(s)
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