Man receives life sentence for child rape, attempted murder in Topeka

TOPEKA (KSNT) - A man accused of sexually abusing young girls for several years received his sentence on Friday.

Katie Garceran with the Shawnee County District Attorney's Office said in a press release that 31-year-old Zachery R. Nelson will receive a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 1,758 months, just over 146 years have been served on Sept. 27. He was initially convicted in a six-day trial on June 13, 2022 of the following charges:

• Attempted Murder in the First Degree.
• Criminal Discharge of a Firearm at an Occupied Vehicle.
• Criminal Discharge of a Firearm at an Unoccupied Dwelling.
• Aggravated Assault
• Criminal Damage to Property.
• Criminal Threat
• Aggravated Criminal Sodomy of a Child under 14.
• 2 counts of Aggravated Indecent Liberties with a Child under 14.
• Rape of a Child under 14.
• Aggravated Indecent Liberties of a Child 14-16.
• Battery

Garceran said Nelson's charges stemmed from sexual abuse of girls from 2016 to 2021 along with attempted murder and criminal threat for his response to these crimes being reported to law enforcement in 2021. He was initially arrested by the Shawnee County Sheriff's Office in January 2021.

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