RENO COUNTY — A Kansas man convicted of sex crimes and serving a 22-year prison term saw the sentence reduced Wednesday.

Reno County District Judge Tim Chambers called Robert Dwerlkotte, 48, Hutchinson, a persistent sex offender after convictions of aggravated burglary and aggravated sexual battery. He has previous convictions in the 90s for Aggravated Indecent Solicitation of a Child and burglary.

In May of 2007, police reported Dwerlkotte broke into his ex-wife’s home, laid down on the floor beside her bed while she slept and then jumped on top of her. He held her down and tried to convince her to have sex.

At sentencing, the defendant filed an appeal over the scoring of his criminal history.

The appeals court ruled that his criminal history score was improper even though the state had put in the complaint that the burglary involved a dwelling. So, his case came back to District Court for re-sentencing. The judge reduced the sentence to 14-years.

Even with the lower sentence, that doesn’t mean he will be set free at the end of that sentence. There is apparently a hold where he could be deemed a sexually violent offender. That would extend his time in custody.