Two men sentenced on separate sex crimes
By MIKE CORN
Two Ellis County men were sentenced to prison Monday on unrelated sex crimes.
Dennis M. Kelly, 23, was sentenced to 72 months in prison on two counts of aggravated sexual battery, according to Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees. He was also sentenced to 10 months in prison on a weapons charge, but that sentence will be served concurrently with the other sentence.
In an unrelated case, Barry D. Rhyne, 42, Schoenchen, was sentenced to 185 months in prison on three counts of sex-related charges involving a girl who was under 14 years old.
Rhyne was sentenced to prison on charges of rape, attempted rape and attempted aggravated criminal sodomy, all of which took place in 2004 and 2005, Drees said.
In the first case, Kelly entered a plea on the charges -- aggravated sexual battery -- in August. He was scheduled to be sentenced in October but decided instead to change his plea, a process that required additional hearings and a new defense attorney. Hearing transcripts and a series of legal briefs on the withdrawal also followed.
He also pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to introduce contraband in a correctional facility.
In that situation, Kelly had apparently broken off the bowl of a plastic spoon, sharpening the handle on the concrete floor, creating what is known as a shank.
Ultimately, Drees said, District Judge Tom Toepfer late last month denied the motion to withdraw the plea.
That put Kelly in line for sentencing on the charges.
On Monday, he was sentenced to 41 months in prison on the first count of aggravated sexual battery, 31 months on the second count. The spoon count drew 10 months, but that term will run concurrent with the other sentences.
Kelley has nearly a year's worth of credit for the time he has spent in the Ellis County jail, Drees said.
In both cases, Kelly and Rhyne will have to register as sex offenders when they leave prison.