TOPEKA, Kan. — In a decision published Friday, the Kansas Supreme Court affirmed Larry Laverne Toothman’s seven convictions in Saline County for committing sex crimes against his teenaged niece.
According to court documents, Toothman was charged with 11 sex crimes committed between 2010 and 2012, however, a Saline County jury found him guilty of only seven counts.
Court documents noted that “Shortly after his conviction, Toothman moved for a new trial. He argued the district court erred when it failed to instruct the jury that criminal sodomy is a lesser included offense of aggravated criminal sodomy. He also claimed his convictions were multiplicitous because, on each count, the jury convicted him of both the primary charge and the alternative charge for the same sexual act.
“At a hearing on the motion, the district court and parties agreed that Toothman should only be sentenced for the primary offense on each count. So the court ruled that Toothman would be sentenced for the crimes of aggravated criminal sodomy and rape, and it set aside his convictions for criminal sodomy, aggravated indecent liberties with a child, and aggravated incest. The court also ruled that any failure to give a lesser included offense instruction on criminal sodomy did not impact the outcome of trial.”
Court documents show that on the day he was sentenced, Toothman gave a letter to his attorney telling her that he wanted to fire her “because she did not subpoena unspecified letters in his property at jail that would have helped his case.” According to court documents, this letter was not sent to the court, however at the sentencing hearing, the defense attorney showed the letter to the court and told the court of Toothman’s request for a new attorney. Additionally, the defense attorney told the court she was not aware of the letters Toothman referred to in his letter.
According to court documents, the Saline County District Court “denied Toothman’s request for new counsel and sentenced him to 653
months’ imprisonment and lifetime postrelease supervision.”
Toothman appealed his convictions. According to information from Friday’s Kansas Supreme Court ruling, “The Court of Appeals reversed one conviction for rape and one for aggravated criminal sodomy and remanded the case with directions to resentence Toothman for aggravated incest, a less severe offense, in their place. The Court of Appeals believed Toothman should be sentenced for aggravated incest because it was a more specific crime than rape or aggravated criminal sodomy, due to his familial relationship with the victim.
“In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Caleb Stegall, the Supreme Court held the Court of Appeals erred when it reversed Toothman’s convictions for rape and aggravated criminal sodomy. The Supreme Court explained that aggravated incest criminalized ‘otherwise lawful sexual intercourse or sodomy’ with a specified relative, but aggravated criminal sodomy and rape could never be ‘otherwise lawful.’ Thus, the Supreme Court held that aggravated incest is not a more specific crime than aggravated criminal sodomy or rape and affirmed Toothman’s seven convictions.”