‘You took away a part of my childhood.’ Girl confronts man who assaulted her in Wichita
The man who kidnapped two girls who were walking to and from school in east Wichita and then sexually assaulted them won’t be eligible for parole for 400-plus years.
The girls were 13 and 10 when the assaults occurred on Jan. 4 and Jan. 5, 2023.
Manasse’h Lemuel Ward, 23, had also kidnapped a 7-year-old boy when he kidnapped the 10-year-old girl but let him go before sexually assaulting her.
He was sentenced Friday to 5,025 months in prison. The suspect has been in Sedgwick County Jail since his Jan. 5, 2023, arrest.
When given a chance to speak, Ward said: “Not at the moment, your honor.” Judge Tyler Roush said this would be his only chance to speak. Ward replied, “No, I am good.”
One of his victim’s spoke before Ward was sentenced.
“You took away a part of my childhood that I will never get back,” she said. “Nothing will ever hurt me as much as you.”
She quoted Matthew 6:14-15, which says that God will forgive those who forgive others of their trespasses, but won’t forgive those who don’t.
“I will forgive you when the time is right,” she said. “That does not mean that what you did is OK or what you said won’t carry any weight. That’s not what my dad would have wanted, that’s not what Jesus would have wanted or also my mom.”
Her mother, who was standing by her side, kissed her on the cheek.
She asked the judge not to consider the defense attorney’s request that Ward be eligible for parole after 618 months, which would make him around 74 by the time he could be released. The defense attorney said this would give Ward a chance of rehabilitating and going back into the community. The attorney said Ward was “abused himself as a child.”
“Would anybody want to put their kid out and take a chance that he is rehabilitated?” she asked. “ I don’t think so … (my daughter) has to deal with this the rest of her life.”
Roush, before sentencing Ward, said: “This was a horrific, serious crimes over a short period of days. These kids, doing what they are supposed to do, walking to school, were unfortunately subjected to the worst instincts of Mr. Ward. And, in that regard, I find that the maximum sentence is appropriate.”
The girl, after the hearing, went up and thanked Roush.
In August, a jury found Ward guilty of 13 counts, including multiple counts in each of aggravated indecent liberties with a child and aggravated criminal sodomy.
What happened
The 13-year-old girl was walking home from Curtis Middle School on Jan. 4 when Ward “grabbed her from behind” with a pocket knife and “told her to get in, otherwise he would kill her,” according to court documents.
Ward drove her to Boston Park and sexually assaulted her before letting her go, the affidavit says.
The next morning, Ward pulled a blue Chevrolet Spark alongside the 10-year-old girl and the 7-year-old boy while they were walking to Clark Elementary School, 650 S. Apache. He offered them a ride because “it was cold outside,” according to the affidavit.
He let the boy out but told the girl to “do exactly what he said so that nobody would be hurt,” the document says. He pulled a knife from the side of his seat “and put it to her head” and drove off, the affidavit said.
Ward then drove the girl around, stopping at four different “destinations.” At each location, Ward forced a sex act upon her, the affidavit saaid.
After the assaults, Ward dropped her off at school and headed to work at a nearby KFC restaurant, police said. Police spotted the possible suspect vehicle — a blue car — at the KFC business at Harry and Woodlawn where Ward was working. The boy, while being taken by police to the hospital, was driven by the car and confirmed he believed it was the one being driven by the suspect, police said.
Ward was arrested near KFC after a short foot chase.
Contributing: Amy Renee Leiker
This story was originally published October 25, 2024 at 5:24 PM.