KCK man convicted of raping woman he met in Westport sentenced to prison

A 32-year-old man convicted of sexually assaulting a woman after they met one night last year in Westport has been sentenced to 35 years in state prison, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release.

Derek Donnell, of Kansas City, Kan., was found guilty in August of two counts of first-degree rape or attempted rape, first-degree sodomy or attempted sodomy and kidnapping.

A judge ordered Donnell to serve 10 years on each rape conviction, 10 years for sodomy and five years for kidnapping. The sentences are set to run consecutively.

The victim met Donnell in the Westport area June 2, 2017, and the two went to Donnell’s car to smoke marijuana. She told police Donnell made unwanted sexual advances in the car and refused to stop when the victim asked him to.

Court records said Donnell forced her into the back seat and raped her, choked her and pulled her hair.

At one point, the woman tried to run away, but court records said Donnell chased her, threw her down to the ground, punched her, forced her back into his car and sexually assaulted her again.

The victim escaped a second time and flagged down Kansas City patrol officers for help.

Donnell told police he had met the woman at a Westport bar, but denied assaulting her.