HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A 55-year-old Hutchinson man was found guilty Wednesday for electronic solicitation and violation of the offender registration act or failing to register. The jury got the case just after 3:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon and had reached a verdict shortly before 5 p.m.
Steven Peterman was arrested back on Feb. 12, 2014 when he was allegedly waiting to pick up an underage girl in the parking lot of the Hutchinson Mall. He is accused texting via cell phone with Sheriff Detective Diana Skomal, who posed as the 15-year-old. He allegedly went to the mall to pick her up with the intention of assisting her in running away from home, but also to teach her sex.
The state did amend the second count from aggravated failure to register to just failure to register which makes it a lower level felony.
District Attorney Keith Schroeder tells us that this is a presumptive prison case in large part because of his prior criminal history.
He’s served time in prison for two counts of attempted rape and electronic solicitation of a child from a case in 2001. In fact, Judge Trish Rose read details of those crimes to jury as stipulated facts to show the jury that he was required to register as a sex offender.
Peterman also has convictions for three counts of theft, perjury and issuing a worthless check. Those cases go back to 1979 and 1980.
Sentencing will be in about two weeks on March 20, according to Schroeder.