Basehor man gets 23 years in prison after admitting sex crimes involving children

A Basehor man who pleaded guilty to sex crimes involving children was sentenced Friday to more than two decades in prison.

William Lawrence Battle, 50, pleaded guilty in June to two counts of electronic solicitation and one count of lewd and lascivious behavior in a case involving child victims. He committed the crimes from 2013 to 2016, prosecutors said.

After hearing from members of all three of the victims’ families, a Leavenworth County District Court judge sentenced Battle to more than 23 years in prison.

“We found it very courageous of one the children to speak,” Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson said.

Before he pleaded guilty, Battle was set to go to trial June 17. His plea meant the child victims did not have to testify.