Perry man sentenced to 24-plus years for attempting to produce child pornography in Lawrence

KANSAS CITY, KAN. — A Perry man was sentenced on Thursday to 292 months, or more than 24 years, in federal prison for using a smartphone to record videos of an 11-year-old girl in the bathroom of a home in Lawrence, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

Ken Theis, 56, was convicted on two counts of attempting to produce child pornography. U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson found that in one instance Theis placed a cellphone in the bathroom of a residence and pressed the record button on the phone to record the 11-year-old girl. He placed the phone on a shelf just above the toilet. He transferred the video from his phone to his laptop computer.

Kenneth Theis, 56

In another instance, Theis activated cellphone cameras in the bathroom to record the girl getting into and out of the shower. Investigators who examined Theis’ cellphone and laptop computers found child pornography from other sources, too.

Grissom commended the Lawrence Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Flannigan for their work on the case.