photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center is pictured in March of 2022. The center houses the Douglas County District Court and other county services.

A Lawrence man accused of raping a 15-year-old girl will not be released to house arrest after the girl’s mother told a judge how her child has been affected.

The accused, Kendrick Deandre Atkins, 25, is charged in Douglas County District Court with one count of rape, one count of aggravated human trafficking, two counts of criminal sodomy and two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, according to charging documents. The charges relate to incidents that allegedly occurred on March 6 and March 8 involving the same 15-year-old girl.

Atkins was arrested on the charge on March 21, as the Journal-World previously reported. His appointed attorney, Hatem Chahine, had asked the court to modify Atkins’ $250,000 bond to an own-recognizance bond, meaning he would not be required to pay any money to be released, but would have maximum supervision through the court with house arrest and GPS monitoring.

Chahine said on Wednesday that Atkins is unemployed, would live with his girlfriend and would leave the house only for court or to meet with his attorney.

But before Judge Amy Hanley ruled on the matter, she first heard from the girl’s mother, who said that her daughter has lived in fear of Atkins and his friends since the alleged crimes occurred.

“My daughter lives in fear with the possibility of him being released. Even if he is on house arrest, he could use his connections to harm my family,” the woman said.

She said that she has installed cameras at her apartment and has developed a “contingency plan” to keep her children safe.

“He picked up my daughter on her way home and raped her,” she said, adding that the girl hadn’t slept for days out of fear.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Ricardo Leal also argued that Atkins should not be released. He said that the charges against Atkins were among the most severe that could be filed against a person.

“He picked up a 15-year-old walking home from Kwik Shop. This could have happened to anyone,” Leal said.

Hanley denied the request to modify the bond and schedule Atkins for a preliminary hearing on April 25.