photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Calvin Lee Payne, left, appears at his plea hearing with his attorney, Michael Clarke, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Douglas County District Court

A registered sex offender was found guilty Friday of another sex crime against a child and will face at least 15 years in prison when he is sentenced in November.

The offender, Calvin Lee Payne, 36, pleaded no contest Friday to one count of criminal sodomy against a child who was 13 at the time of the offense in June 2022.

The plea was part of a deal with the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office under which a rape charge was amended to the sodomy charge and more than a dozen other charges were dropped, including one count of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, one count of electronic solicitation of a child, 11 counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of interference with a law enforcement officer.

According to the arrest affidavit in the case, the girl told police that Payne had sexually abused her in his car. Payne had additionally been in contact with the girl over Facebook Messenger and frequently texted her sexually charged messages. On multiple occasions he asked the girl to send him nude images, including video, of herself, which she did. Payne is also alleged to have sent the girl a nude image of himself.

The messages exchanged between Payne and the girl were discovered after the girl’s guardian confiscated her phone and reviewed her messages.

As part of the plea deal, Senior Assistant District Attorney Ricardo Leal and defense counsel Michael Clarke are recommending that Payne serve 180 months, or 15 years, in prison, which would be a downward departure in the state sentencing guidelines, given that Payne is believed to have the highest — or worst — criminal history score possible.

Judge Amy Hanley explained to Payne that she was not obligated to follow the recommendation in the plea agreement and could give him anywhere from 221 to 247 months, or 18.4 to 20.5 years.

“It will be my decision entirely,” she said, noting that she would have to be provided with “substantial and compelling reasons” for her to depart downward.

In addition to a lengthy prison term term, Payne also will be under lifetime post-release supervision and must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Payne has been in custody on a $100,000 bond since his arrest in May 2023.

He is a already a registered sex offender after a 2005 conviction in Plano, Texas, for aggravated sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl, according to the Kansas Sex Offender Registry. He also has a conviction for robbery in Shawnee County from 2011, according to Kansas Department of Corrections records.

His sentencing in the current case is scheduled for Nov. 20.