Stanton to serve 49 years for criminal sodomy

A former staffer for U.S. Rep. Todd Tiarht was sentenced for aggravated criminal sodomy in Riley County District Court on Monday afternoon. Jase Stanton, 30, will serve 592 months — roughly 49 years — for a June, 7, 2015 incident where he raped three unconscious Fort Riley men in his home after a night of drinking in Aggieville. Attorney John Thurston represented Stanton.

Judge Meryl D. Wilson found Stanton guilty of one count of aggravated criminal sodomy at the conclusion of his February trial. He was also sentenced to 18 years for violating the Kansas Open Records Act.

Stanton has been registered as a sex offender since 2011 for two counts of aggravated sexual battery. The allegations surfaced in 2009 when Stanton was working on Tiahrt’s senatorial campaign.

The courtroom was full of emotion during the sentencing. Jase Stanton’s mother, who is battling breast cancer, delivered an impassioned statement in front of the courtroom detailing her son’s long history with alcohol abuse but also spoke about her son’s “loving” and “positive” character.

Stanton also gave a statement of his own, where he recalled his life of alcoholism and admitted to being raped as a five-year-old by a teen-aged neighbor. Stanton maintained his innocence during his trial, and continued to do so on Monday afternoon.

“At no point did I knowingly or intentionally hurt anyone,” said Stanton.

Deputy Riley County Attorney Bethany Fields painted a much different picture of Stanton. Fields listed off a history of chances Stanton had to deal with alcohol dependency. Stanton’s first encounter with sexual assault happened during a stint overseas when he served in the U.S. military. He was accused of assaulting another soldier in 2005.

Judge Wilson acknowledged the hundreds of letters and testimonials he received in defense of Stanton’s character during the process before handing down his sentence.

“It’s very troubling — this is not the first time you had taken advantage of someone,” Wilson said. “The sad things about these situations is it doesn’t just impact you.”