Hutch Post

HUTCHINSON, — The Kansas Court of Appeals Friday upheld the conviction and sentence for a Hutchinson man, convicted in a child sex case and given a life sentence under Jessica’s Law.

Salvador Araujo-Gutierrez, 26, was found guilty of one count of rape and one count of aggravated indecent liberties with a child.

Jessica’s law convictions call for a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.

The jury couldn’t find Araujo-Gutierrez guilty on four other charges against him with three encounters occurring between 2006 and 2011, but they did find him guilty for the incident in the basement of a Hutchinson home.

That’s where police found his DNA from a stain on new carpeting. The child had pointed out where that stain might be which wasn’t able to be detected by the naked eye. However, the KBI tested the fibers of the carpet and discovered the DNA that matched the defendant.

The judge called the evidence in the case “overwhelming.”