photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Michael Aller, background, appears with defense attorney Carl Cornwell Thursday, June 11, 2026 in Douglas County District Court.

A registered sex offender who could have faced a sentence of more than 20 years in prison was sentenced Thursday afternoon to three years of probation based on a joint motion from the defense and prosecution.

Michael Ken Aller, 36, of Lawrence, pleaded no contest to two counts of aggravated sexual battery in Douglas County District Court in January. Aller was originally charged with rape in this case. At his preliminary hearing last August, a woman testified that he sexually assaulted her on March 30, 2022, in a Lawrence trailer home.

Based on his criminal record, state sentencing guidelines would have included a presumptive prison sentence, however, Aller’s defense attorney, Carl Cornwell, and then-Senior Assistant District Attorney Ricardo Leal had agreed to recommend a sentence of probation as part of a plea deal, as the Journal-World reported.

Aller’s sentencing was set for Feb. 26, but it was delayed after Cornwell did not file the joint motion for probation in time, as the Journal-World reported.

Before Judge Amy Hanley imposed the sentence, Cornwell explained that based on Kansas’ sentencing guidelines for aggravated sexual battery and Aller’s criminal history score of “B” — the worst possible being “A” — Aller would have faced a maximum prison sentence of 128 months — over 10 years. As a “persistent sex offender,” Aller’s sentence would have doubled under Special Rule 5, meaning he would face a maximum sentence of 256 months, or 21 years and four months.

Cornwell argued that there were “issues with the case” based on some of the testimony that occurred during preliminary hearing. One scheduled witness did not show up for that hearing, while Cornwell also said his investigation found other potential evidence they could have brought up in Aller’s defense in a trial.

Cornwell said the case went to mediation before a former judge, who felt the case should be settled, and he said he felt this was a situation where “both people (were) telling the truth” and “both people misunderstood” what happened during the encounter. He also said the deal struck between him and Leal was something “both sides thought long and hard about.”

Leal left the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office in January 2026, as the Journal-World reported, and Megan Ahsens, a senior assistant district attorney,took over the case in February. Ahsens said after reviewing the case, while she did not agree with Cornwell that there was a mutual misunderstanding, she did agree there were risks “for both sides” of the case if it went to trial. She felt adhering to this agreement was the “best possible deal for a certain outcome” and asked Hanley to follow the agreement.

After a five minute recess, Hanley said ruling on the departure was a “difficult decision” for her. These types of cases, which she said she had seen from the bench and as an advocate, “are not easy for anyone” and are “emotional, serious and heavy.”

Hanley said many requests for departure from prison sentences are about accountability, but this one was focused on issues in the case. She also felt it was meaningful a former judge recommended it be settled during mediation, and the victim in the case had accepted the agreement.

Although she had denied departure requests before for various reasons, Hanley ruled she found compelling reasons to depart to sentence Aller from jail time to the agreed three years of probation.

Aller was convicted in Douglas County of a sex crime previously, and he also got probation in that case. In 2020, he was accused of attempting to solicit sex from a 15-year-old girl online and sending her illicit pictures of himself; in 2022, he pleaded no contest to electronic solicitation of a person between the ages of 14 and 16 and attempted aggravated indecent liberties with a child. He was sentenced to 59 months in prison in that case, which a former judge, Kay Huff, suspended to three years of probation.

Based on his current sentencing, Aller must have no contact with the victim in any way, undergo a sex offender evaluation, register as a sex offender for life and not use alcohol or other illegal drugs and be subject to random testing.

Hanley said this was a chance for Aller to show that he was taking accountability for his actions, and she reminded him if he violated any of those rules, the consequences of his actions “will come home to roost,” and he could receive the 20-year sentence.