Former Hutchinson police officer sentenced for various sexual assaults at city parks

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (KWCH) - A former Hutchinson police officer will spend the next two decades in prison.

Todd Allen was sentenced to 23 and a half years in prison for crimes including rape, kidnapping and indecent liberties with a child.

Last month, Allen pleaded guilty to 12 felony counts and five misdemeanors in connection with a series of sexual assaults reported in city parks from 2012 to 2018. Allen was an officer with the HPD during that six-year stretch.

On Monday, Allen’s attorney asked for departure from his sentence, given no prior criminal record and his relationship with the community - but the judge declined the request.

Allen was arrested for the crimes in April of 2022. Prosecutors said he used his position to prey on his victims. Reno County Senior Attorney Kimberly Rodebaugh read some statements from some of those victims during the sentencing.

“Big crowds or being out late at night make me avoid taking walks, or going to a park, or watching the sun go down. I get high anxiety out late at night, I don’t like camping or the normal activities I used to do. I used to be outgoing, now, I’m more introverted,” read one victim’s statement.

Another focused on the search that continued by the Hutchinson Police Department.

“I can’t help wondering how many hours, how many nights, that your colleagues, with your knowledge, doing surveillance in parks, and you knew that,” said another witness.

Haylea Getman lives in Hutchinson. She said she remembers hearing about the assaults years ago, and said it’s bizarre to learn the suspect was a police officer.

“We wouldn’t go out at night,” said Getman. “Women would just like in the old days, you have to go home before dark.”

For many, it was a sigh of relief to learn that Allen would be going away for so long.

“I’m talking 300 pounds. Gone. It’s amazing. Hutchinson, Kansas. Who would have thought,” said resident Aalijah Hernandez.

Before being taken into custody on Monday, Allen apologized for his actions.

“I accept full responsibility, and I’m deeply sorry for the hurt that I caused,” he said.

Allen will serve out his sentence at the El Dorado Correctional Facility. He will also have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

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