Topeka ? The Kansas Supreme Court has upheld the lifetime post-release supervision of a Lawrence man who is serving time for raping a child.

In 2011, Steve Williams was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in connection with the rape of a 6-year-old girl.

Williams was also sentenced to 34 months in prison on a conviction of exploitation of a child for possessing child pornography.

In the child pornography case, Williams was also sentenced to a lifetime of post-release supervision should he ever leave prison. He challenged that sentence as cruel and unusual punishment under the U.S. and state constitutions.

But the state Supreme Court rejected that claim, noting lower court decisions that say lifetime supervision serves a societal purpose by requiring that offenders receive treatment and avoid situations where they may be tempt to offend again.