photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World Photo

Mark Duane Strand is pictured on Feb. 26, 2026, in Douglas County District Court.

A Douglas County jury has found a 74-year-old landlord guilty of multiple sex crimes against children who lived at his Lawrence properties.

Mark Duane Strand was convicted Thursday of five counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, three counts of rape, one count of attempted interference with judicial process and one count of intimidation of a witness or victim, according to the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office. The two latter convictions relate to Strand’s attempts to get the victims to recant and his offer of scholarship money for them if they declined to testify.

The sex-crime convictions relate to incidents going as far back as 2016. The three girls he abused were under the age of 14; the most serious charges involved a girl under age 10. They were living with their relative, who was a handyman and a tenant of Strand’s. It was alleged that the handyman had paid rent by allowing Strand sexual access to the children.

The handyman was previously convicted of aggravated sexual battery and aggravated child endangerment and is currently serving a four-year prison sentence, as the Journal-World reported.

The three victims all testified at Strand’s trial, which began Monday. Attorneys representing Strand characterized the victims’ claims as “stories” arising out of a chaotic family life, while the state portrayed Strand as a sexual predator.

Jurors were told during jury selection that Strand, a retired building and facility manager at the University of Kansas, had a prior conviction for a child sex crime.

In the prior conviction, according to federal court documents, Strand accepted a plea deal in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in December 2019, when he was convicted of knowingly attempting to coerce and entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. He believed he was communicating with a child, but was actually communicating with FBI agents. In those exchanges he said he would pay $100 to engage in sexual activity with a 12-year-old. On July 12, 2019, he traveled to Miami Beach, where he met an undercover agent and was arrested. He is serving a 12-year sentence for that conviction.

Judge Stacey Donovan, who presided over the trial, will sentence Strand for the 10 recent convictions at a later date.

Previous coverage:

Nov. 6, 2021: Lawrence man facing charges of human trafficking for allegedly allowing children to be assaulted in exchange for rent

Nov. 20, 2021: Lawrence landlord serving 12 years in federal prison for child sex crime is facing similar charges in Douglas County

Sept. 16, 2022: Lawrence man facing human-trafficking charges is charged with another child-sex crime

Feb. 25, 2023: Man accused of trafficking children is ordered to stand trial in a 2nd sex crime case

July 24, 2023: Lawrence man originally charged with trafficking children in exchange for rent avoids trial and enters plea to lesser crimes

Nov. 21, 2023: Lawrence man originally charged with trafficking children in exchange for rent is sentenced to 4 years in prison

March 10, 2026: Former Lawrence landlord accused of sexually abusing kids faces new charges of interference and witness intimidation

April 6, 2026: Property manager says landlord accused of child sex crimes asked him to get victims to recant; scholarships mentioned as inducement

Nov. 3, 2026: State says Lawrence landlord sexually abused kids; defense dismisses girls’ accusations as ‘stories’