Daniel Perez sentenced to two life terms for murder, child sex crimes

Daniel Perez, purported seer and leader of a former compound known as Angels Landing, will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Sedgwick County District Judge Joseph Bribiesca on Tuesday ordered Perez, 55, to serve two life sentences, plus more than 33 years, on 28 convictions connected to a decade-long string of crimes. Those crimes, committed while he lived on a 20-acre property in the 9500 block of North Oliver near Kechi, included killing one of his followers and sexually abusing young girls.

The convictions that carried the heftiest possible sentences – life without parole eligibility for 25 years – were for the premeditated first-degree murder and sexual exploitation of a child younger than 14. The latter, involving video taken of an 8-year-old girl undressing at his home, was prosecutable under Jessica’s Law, which in 2006 strengthened penalties for some sex offenders.

The judge also told Perez he would serve 406 months – just under 34 years – in prison on the remainder of his convictions: eight counts of rape, seven counts of aggravated criminal sodomy, three counts of aggravated assault, and eight counts of directing that false information be put on car credit and life insurance applications.

The sentences will run consecutively, meaning Perez would have to serve more than 80 years in prison before he has a chance at parole. He would be more than 130 years old at that time.

Perez, who was arrested and charged in the case in 2012 following a nine-year investigation, appeared in court Tuesday wearing an orange jail jumpsuit and shackles around his wrists and ankles. He declined an opportunity to speak during the hearing.

His attorney, Alice Osburn, said in court Tuesday that he maintains his innocence on all of the charges.

In a plea to the judge to impose the maximum sentence allowed under law, a woman who suffered years of sex abuse at Perez’s hands beginning when she was a child said Perez deserved consecutive sentences because “too many lives have been impacted by his crimes for him to serve time for only one.”

Prosecutors at trial last month spent two weeks presenting evidence and testimony showing how Perez moved across multiple states for more than 20 years, using false names and convincing his communal family he had magical powers, including the ability to foretell the future. His goal, prosecutors contended, was to live a lavish lifestyle using life insurance proceeds from the deaths of his followers without coming under scrutiny.

In 2003, his greed, they said, led him to kill 26-year-old Patricia Hughes, a wife and mother who lived at Angels Landing, in a pool outside of their home. For years her death was considered accidental.

He also wanted ready access to his followers’ prepubescent girls for sex, according to testimony at trial.

“I was 10 when my childhood was over,” the woman, now 23, told Bribiesca during the sentencing hearing.

“While other 10-year-olds were riding bikes or playing with dolls, I was laying naked in a bed with a pillow over my head, just waiting for it to be over.

“While other 13-year-olds were getting boyfriends and holding hands, I was holding onto my secret and losing the people I loved one by one. When other 16-year-olds were experiencing the freedom of learning how to drive and planning parties with their friends, I was planning my own death every day when I drove to school.”

Later, she told Bribiesca: “This sentencing isn’t just about what he’s done to so many lives. It’s about preventing him from doing it again.”

Osburn said in court that Perez planned to appeal his convictions. She had asked the judge to run her client’s sentences simultaneously so he would have a chance at parole “in his latter years,” but Bribiesca refused the request.

In an interview after the sentencing, Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said that the victims in the case and their families were pleased with the result.

Some hugged one another or wiped away tears after the ruling. None would speak with reporters outside of the courtroom, but their emotions were apparent.

“They’re very relieved its finally over with,” Bennett said of the victims and their families. “I think there’s a little disbelief this day has finally come.”

This story was originally published March 24, 2015 at 11:46 AM with the headline "Daniel Perez sentenced to two life terms for murder, child sex crimes."