photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Lance Yoder, left, appears with attorney Branden Smith at his sentencing for attempted rape on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Douglas County District Court.

A Douglas County judge on Wednesday sentenced a Lawrence man to nearly five years in prison for attempted rape of a child in a case that dates back nearly two decades.

The defendant, Lance Lee Yoder, 55, was convicted on April 1 after pleading no contest as part of a deal with the state that dropped more serious charges.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Lance Yoder appears for his sentencing for attempted rape on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Douglas County District Court.

Yoder originally faced three counts of rape, but one count had been dismissed earlier because of the statute of limitations. At his preliminary hearing in June of last year, a 27-year-old woman testified that Yoder had repeatedly sexually abused her when she was a young child. In the case barred by the statute of limitations, another woman recounted similar abuse.

Both women submitted victim impact statements to the court, and one of the women, now living out of state, addressed Judge Amy Hanley via Zoom at Wednesday’s hearing. Yoder offered no objection to the woman not being present in the courtroom.

The woman told the court that prior to the abuse she had a childhood of “carefree happiness” and eagerly anticipated life — until Yoder introduced her at a very young age to drugs, alcohol and sex, which she said had left her with an extreme fear of people, intense anxiety, including multiple suicide attempts, strained relationships and difficulties holding a job.

“All I want is to feel normal,” she said.

Yoder looked down and away as the young woman spoke, and when he was given a chance to make his own statement, he said, “No thanks, your honor.”

Defense attorney Branden Smith, however, while calling the sentence “just,” accused the young woman of stealing money from his client over the year and, when things didn’t go her way, of making retaliatory reports of abuse “nearly 20 years” in the past. Smith did not cite evidence Wednesday in support of those accusations.

He said Yoder’s no contest plea to attempted rape was simply “a risk-elimination plea,” meaning he had agreed to it to avoid a possible life sentence if he were to be convicted of child rape at trial.

At Yoder’s preliminary hearing a year ago Hanley heard a recorded conversation between the then-27-year-old and Yoder in which the two discussed the alleged abuse in 2008. In the recording, made with the assistance of police, Yoder apologizes, saying “I regret anything I did that hurt you.” He doesn’t deny touching her inappropriately but claims he “stopped immediately” when she asked him to. He is also heard blaming “a Black guy” for an act of rape that she had accused him of as she slept.

The other woman’s victim impact statement was reviewed by Hanley but was not read into the public record Wednesday.

Hanley noted that another judge, Sally Pokorny, had accepted Yoder’s no contest plea on April 1. Hanley’s sentence of 59 months was in line with the plea agreement and state sentencing guidelines. She observed that it was “near the maximum sentence” allowed under state law — the maximum being 61 months, given Yoder’s lack of criminal history.

In addition to the prison time, Yoder will face lifetime post-release supervision and must also register as a sex offender until he dies.

“I hope you have the mindset to change,” Hanley told Yoder, and to understand the “impact” endured by the two victims. “I hope it’s not lost on you. It’s not lost on the court.”

After his sentencing, he was led away in handcuffs. Until Wednesday, with the exception of one day, he had been free on a $100,000 own-recognizance bond.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Lance Yoder is led from the courtroom after being sentenced for attempted rape on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Douglas County District Court.