For Immediate Release
Jan. 24, 2019
William Luth was sentenced to 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilty today to a February 2016 rape in Independence of a mother, who was home with a young child at the time of the assault, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced today.
A Jackson County judge sentenced Luth of Blue Springs, dob: 2/08/1992, in a hearing this morning in Independence. Luth earlier pleaded guilty in Johnson County, Kan., to charges related to the kidnapping and sexual assault of a Johnson County deputy. Luth is serving 41 years on that conviction.
The case of a second defendant in the February 2016 rape in Independence is still pending.
According to court records, DNA recovered from evidence collected on the victim in the Johnson County rape matched evidence collected from the victim in Independence. Also, a search warrant obtained data related to the defendant's phone. It showed his phone was pinging off a tower near the reported rape during the time of the incident.
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
mmansur@jacksongov.org
http://jacksoncountyprosecutor.com
*Charges are only accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until the defendant is either found guilty or has pleaded.