photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

John Grant Redding turns to face his parents and reads from a statement Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Douglas County District Court.

A Douglas County judge on Wednesday sentenced a 38-year-old Lawrence man to more than five years in prison for electronic solicitation of a child.

Judge Amy Hanley announced the 66-month prison term after hearing from the mother of an 11-year-old victim, who said that the defendant, John Grant Redding, “stole my son’s innocence” and “took his childhood” after the two encountered each other online. At Redding’s plea hearing in August, the state said that Redding had acted illegally with a group of juveniles who were playing the game Fortnite online and that nude images were involved.

District Attorney Suzanne Valdez said the case included four child victims in total.

Redding was originally charged with four crimes: one count of sexual exploitation of a minor by promoting a sexual act with the intent to distribute a recording or photograph of the act; one felony count of aggravated indecent solicitation of a child involving a second child under the age of 13; one felony count of aggravated endangerment of a child; and one misdemeanor count of promoting obscenity to children.

Redding, in a deal with the state, pleaded no contest to a single count of electronic solicitation and agreed not to request a downward departure at sentencing.

The mother who addressed the court cried as she recounted how the experience had changed her young son’s life, exposing him to matters that 11-year-olds should have no awareness of, leaving him distrustful of adults and feeling ashamed and as though he were at fault for something a grown man was responsible for. She said the boy’s life and her own as a mother had been “irrevocably” changed after she found evidence of the sex crime on her son’s electronic device in May 2022, and she described the terrible feeling of watching Redding continuing to interact with kids online even after a search warrant had been executed at his home.

“You have a vile sickness that you let rule and control you,” she said directly to Redding Wednesday.

Redding stared straight ahead as the woman spoke, but when given his own chance to address the court he apologized to his victims, acknowledging that his behavior had “crossed boundaries” and that he was ashamed. Reading from a prepared statement, he turned toward the gallery where his parents sat and thanked them for being there. Then he wept as he spoke of what the “hardest” part of five and a half years in prison would be: missing the rest of his own daughter’s childhood.

Hanley, after handing down the sentence, told Redding that something he could do toward redemption was to reflect deeply on his behavior and to genuinely change for his daughter’s sake.

“If ever I struggle for words, it’s in these cases,” Hanley said, referring to sex crimes against children, specifically “noncontact” crimes where the damage may not be as outwardly visible as with a physical or violent crime but where the psychological effect is just as consequential and lasting.

Hanley thanked the victim’s mom for showing up and discussing her family’s experience.

“Your words have an impact,” she said.

In addition to his prison time, Redding must register as a sex offender for 25 years and will have 36 months of post-release supervision. He had been free on a $100,000 bond since shortly after his arrest in January, but was immediately handcuffed and taken into custody after Wednesday’s hearing.

Redding has had other run-ins with the law for crimes involving minors, including pleading guilty in 2018 to two counts of contributing to child misconduct and one count of unlawfully hosting minors consuming alcohol.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

John Grant Redding is handcuffed and taken into custody Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Douglas County District Court.