NESS CITY – A former Ness City man will spend life in prison after being convicted on rape and Jessica’s Law charges in August, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.

37-year-old Benito Cardenas Jr., was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25-years on each of the two convictions by District Judge Bruce T. Gatterman. Gatterman ordered the sentences to run concurrently to each other.

Cardenas was convicted in August by a Ness County jury of rape and aggravated criminal sodomy under Jessica’s Law. The crimes occurred in Ness City in September 2010. Cardenas was living in Dodge City at the time of his arrest in April 2011.

The state Tuesday also filed charges against Cardenas of aggravated escape from custody and felony theft. The State alleges that Cardenas escaped from the Ness County jail following his conviction in August. He was later apprehended in Trego County.

His next court appearance is scheduled for December 11 at 11 a-m.