HUTCHINSON, Kan. – A 46-year-old man convicted in 2007 of breaking into his ex-wife’s home, and laying on the floor beside her bed while she slept, then jumping on top of her when she woke up, holding her down and trying to convince her to have sex with him wanted relief from his sentence, but that was denied.
Robert Dwerlkotte was sentenced to 22 and half years in prison by District Judge Tim Chambers calling him a persistence sex offender. Judge Chambers gave him the 272 months on a charge of aggravated burglary, then 32 months of a charge of aggravated sexual battery, but ran the sentences concurrent.
The sentence actually went against a plea agreement in the case where both the state and the defense had asked for 120 months, with the state not seeking to have him named as a persistent sex offender.
He had filed a motion in the case hoping to convince Judge Chambers to reduce the sentence based on rulings in some other cases. But Senior Assistant District Attorney Steve Maxwell noted that the legislature has adjusted the law and believed the motion should be denied. Apparently Dwerlkotte has other motions that have just been docketed with the Kansas Court of Appeals in this case and Judge Chambers assured him that he would see that this issue would be added to that appeal.
The issue of his sentence has gone before the appeals court over whether the judge made the right decision over his sentence and all three times they agreed that he did.
Dwerlkotte had previously served time in prison before for burglary and sexual exploitation of a child.