Judge sentences Leavenworth man on child sex abuse, rape, murder-for-hire convictions
A Leavenworth man was handed three life sentences in Kansas prison after being convicted of sexual abuse and attempted murder-for-hire, according to prosecutors.
Steven M. Manczuk, 40, was convicted in July by a Leavenworth County jury of rape, sexual exploitation of a child and solicitation to commit capital murder.
During a court hearing Wednesday, Judge Gerald R. Kuckelman ordered Manczuk to serve two of the life sentences, plus nearly 5 years for attempted capital murder, back-to-back.
The FBI started investigating Manczuk in 2020 based on a decade-old series of Skype conversations with a Detroit-area man. Prosecutors say Manczuk shared child sexual abuse images and talked of sexually abusing a child during calls made in 2011.
Investigators located two alleged victims who reported abuse in years 2010 through 2013 when both were under the age of 14.
Prosecutors filed charges against Manczuk in Leavenworth County in July 2022. As he was being held in jail, Manczuk was charged with the additional offense of soliciting capital murder.
In October, Manczuk allegedly spoke to fellow jail inmates about having the victims in the case killed. One of the inmates reported the conversations to police in November.
Leavenworth County Prosecuting Attorney Todd Thompson expressed gratitude Wednesday for the prison sentences. He added that it was difficult “to fathom anything like this ever happening.”
