HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A former Buhler teacher who was convicted of molesting a 15-year-old South Korean foreign exchange student entered a “no contest” plea after the case was sent back to District Court for a possible new trial. However, even with that, his sentence is pretty much complete, meaning he will be released from prison.
It was back in October of 2008 when Richard Young was convicted of two counts of indecent liberties with a child, one count of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, and one count of indecent solicitation of a child. The crimes occurred in August 2007. The victim was staying at his home at the time of the sexual abuse.
Young appealed his convictions to the Kansas Court of Appeals. District Attorney Keith Schroeder explained the mistake they made when they instructed the jury at the trial. He says they instructed the jury that they could only consider the evidence of the abuse of his sons years ago for the limited purpose of determining intent. Schroeder says we should have told them they could consider the evidence for whatever they wanted.
Judge Rose sentenced Young to the original six years and eight months, but basically time is served. He will be under lifetime post-release and will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
He’s expected to be released from the Reno County Jail, as opposed to being taken back to the Department of Corrections and released there. That could come as soon as today.
The victim is still in the U.S., attending Harvard University where he’s seeking his Ph.D. in Physics. The victim was in court Friday after being flown from Boston. He told the court of his life being shattered by what Young did. He says Young ruined his sense of trust and security.