Man who raped Johnson County deputy pleads guilty to previous rape in Independence
A man who raped a Johnson County sheriff’s deputy in 2016 pleaded guilty Thursday to raping an Independence woman earlier that same year.
William Luth was sentenced to 30 years in prison after he entered the plea Wednesday in Jackson County Circuit Court.
The Jackson County sentence will run concurrently with the 41-year sentence Luth received in Johnson County for the attack on the deputy.
The attack occurred on Luth’s birthday, and in court Thursday the woman reminded him of that.
“Oh, and I don’t want you to think I forgot your birthday is coming up. Happy Birthday,” she said. “I hope you rot in hell.”
Another man, Brady Newman-Caddell, was charged with Luth in both cases.
Newman-Caddell, 23, previously pleaded guilty in the Johnson County case and was supposed to be sentenced Wednesday. But he told a judge that he wanted to withdraw his guilty plea. That case continues.
The Independence rape occurred in February 2016.
The woman was sleeping in her apartment with her 2-year-old daughter when she was attacked.
The men took turns raping her and punched her when she tried to resist. The attack occurred while her daughter was on the bed next to her.
No suspects were identified until the deputy was kidnapped and sexually assaulted about eight months later.
Luth and Newman-Caddell were identified as suspects in the Johnson County case, and Newman-Caddell’s DNA matched DNA of an assailant in the Independence case, according to court documents and testimony.
Both men were subsequently charged in Jackson County.
In court Thursday, the Independence woman described how Independence police seemed to doubt her story and did little to investigate her attack.
She said Luth was in court because Johnson County investigators took that case seriously and the DNA samples were matched.
“Not because of any fantastic investigative work by the Independence beat cops who clearly received zero training in the best practices of dealing with sexual trauma victims, and who made it abundantly clear that they were pretty sure I was just being dramatic,” she said.
She told Luth Thursday that she did not fear him and did not allow what he did to break her.
“This is what justice looks like. It’s cold, and imperfect, but it’s as real as the bars you’ll waste the best years of your life behind,” she said. “I stand here now, because I want to be evidence of more than a rape. I want to be evidence that there is hope, there is healing, and there can be justice.”
This story was originally published January 24, 2019 at 1:09 PM.
