Sex offender, 71, gets 120 years for child sex abuse in the Philippines

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Federal prosecutors in Kansas City say a 71-year-old sex offender has been sentenced to 120 years in prison for sexually abusing children in the Philippines.

The U.S. Attorney’s office said in a release that Kenneth Gaylord Stokes, a U.S. citizen who lived in the Philippines, was sentenced Tuesday to 120 years in prison without parole.

Stokes pleaded guilty in January to five counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places. He’s been in custody since he was deported back to the U.S. after his arrest in the Philippines in 2012.

Court documents show he was charged after an investigation that began when an undercover agent in Springfield found an online ad from Stokes.

The office says Stokes has a previous conviction for raping a 7-year-old girl in Washington state.

This story was originally published August 5, 2015 at 9:56 AM with the headline "Sex offender, 71, gets 120 years for child sex abuse in the Philippines."