Man to serve life in prison for rape

A Dodge City man who pleaded guilty more than a year ago to raping three female non-biological relatives was sentenced Monday to life in prison.
    Thomas D. Plotner must serve at least 25 years of his sentence before he can be considered for parole, and he will have to register as a sex offender. He was also placed on indefinite post-release supervision.
    He will receive credit for 527 days he served in the county jail while awaiting trial.
    Plotner pleaded guilty Aug. 3, 2007, of three counts of raping a child under the age of 14. Seven months later, he changed his mind and asked to withdraw his plea, but the request was denied on the grounds that he knew about the possible consequences of his plea when he entered it.
    Plotner's attorney, Lawrence Daniels, said Monday that his client's statements to investigators and the court showed that his understanding of what he had done was naive at best and childish at worst. He also noted that Plotner was experiencing marital problems at the time of the offenses.
    Given those factors, Daniels asked the court to consider imposing a 15-year sentence, followed by parole.
    "I don't think at that point, he will any longer be a danger," Daniels said.
    Plotner later told the court that he was sorry for his actions.
    "Every day I'm in the jail, it hurts me inside," he said. "I have a lot of pain."
    But assistant Ford County Attorney David Belling asked the court to impose three consecutive life sentences, given the nature of the offense and the victims' ages. He added that the victims were especially vulnerable due to their ages and their relationship to Plotner.
    "It's not something they're going to get over," he said. "This is going to go with these girls forever."
    Belling also said that Plotner's letters to the court indicated that he was trying to justify his actions and trying to duck responsibility for them.
    District Judge Van Hampton ordered Plotner to serve three concurrent life sentences, saying he found no reason to depart from the standard sentence. The judge added that everyone knew the sentence would take up the rest of Plotner's productive life, but they also knew that his actions were deplorable.
    "However you describe it or define it, it was reprehensible," Hampton said.
    Plotner has 10 days to decide whether he wants to appeal either his convictions or the sentence and file a notice of appeal.

Reach Eric Swanson at (620) 408-9917 or e-mail him at eric.swanson@dodgeglobe.com.