Former Officer Receives Life in Prison for Sexual Assault of Minor

  • By Matt Jones
  • June 01, 2021

Last week, a former school resource officer from Kansas City, Kan., was sentenced to life in prison for “child sex crimes and rape,” according to a news release by Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

Mark Scheetz, 32, was sentenced in the Norton County District Court on Tuesday, May 25, and he will not be eligible for parole for at least 50 years. He was convicted by a jury in April on two counts of aggravated criminal sodomy with a child younger than 14 years of age, two counts of rape, sexual exploitation of a child, and witness intimidation, according to the news release. Scheetz was sentenced under Jessica’s Law, which was designed to mete out harsher sentences for sex offenders whose victims were young children.

The crimes took place between 2012 and 2015 in Norton County, Kansas. Scheetz was working as a school resource officer in a Kansas City School District when he was charged in 2019, and before that, he worked at the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office from 2016 to 2018.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning and Campus Security and Life Safety. He can be reached at [email protected]

Featured

  • Door Hardware and Campus Security: Enhancing Safety in Schools

    The importance of investing in school safety cannot be overstated, but knowing where to start implementation of school safety features can be a challenge. A recent survey by the National Center on Education Statistics found that a quarter of U.S. public schools have classrooms with doors that can't be locked from the inside. Even among schools with doors that do lock, recent legislation reflects a common misconception that simply keeping the doors locked all day will eliminate the potential for an attack, in direct violation of PASS (Partner Alliance for Safer Schools) Guidelines. Read Now

  • Brigham Young University Strengthens Campus Security With Genetec Operations Center

    Genetec Inc, a provider of enterprise physical security software, announced that Brigham Young University's (BYU) has optimized its security operations with the Genetec™ Operations Center work management system. Read Now

  • AI-based Risk Mitigation: The Next Advancement in Video Surveillance and Public Safety

    Safety is at the forefront of every organization and covers a gamut of scenarios, not just weapon-fueled lethal threats. It also includes smaller-scale and everyday situations like slipping hazards, fallen persons, unauthorized vehicles, and more. These issues cause disruptions in daily operations and cost companies and facilities money and downtime, so a fully realized security plan must involve actions that facility personnel should take once a hazard of any size occurs. Informing everyone that a hazard exists, where it’s located, and what actions to take is imperative for maintaining personal safety. Read Now

  • Fort Worth ISD Strengthens Event Safety

    The issue of concealed weapons being introduced into school extracurricular activities, including sporting events and graduations, became a growing concern in communities across the nation. According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, there were at least 202 incidents of gunfire on school grounds in 2024 across the United States, resulting in 56 deaths and 147 injuries, underscoring the urgent need for enhanced safety protocols. Read Now

Most   Popular