Former Kansas police chief sentenced to 60 years in prison in child porn case
A former Kansas police chief was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison after being convicted of possessing child porn.
Joel Womochil, 39, of El Dorado, was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit sexual exploitation of child/production of child pornography, federal court records show.
The charges alleged that between Aug. 9-15 he was in possession of child porn, with one of the 13 videos involving a child under the age of 5 who had a pacifier, court records previously said.
The charges each carry 30 years, which are to be served consecutively. He is also being ordered to pay $529,050 in restitution to victims.
Womochil had been the Burns Police Department chief since Feb. 8, 2022. He replaced Chief Stephen Evans, who died in an accident while on duty. He was also employed by the Butler County Sheriff’s Office as a detention deputy.
Womochil resigned from his post on Aug. 8, 2023, days before being arrested and charged with over a dozen counts of child porn, The Eagle reported.
He was arrested the same day El Dorado police received a tip about the child porn from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Burns city officials said they had no clue about the criminal issues until Womochil was arrested. Former Burns city clerk Alexis Hatfield said he was “very vague” when he offered his resignation to the city council.
Womochil said the resignation was not because of any problems he had with the department or city officials.
Burns is a city of less than 250 people about 50 miles northeast of Wichita.
This story was originally published March 30, 2025 at 2:17 PM.