By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
A 30-year-old Plainville man was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison Friday in Rooks County District Court for rape and sexual assault.
Bryan Moran was initially arrested in September 2024 for eight felony counts and two misdemeanor charges for a series of incidents that occurred Aug. 23-26 in Plainville.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation assisted with the investigation.
According to court documents, Moran held the victim, with whom he was in a relationship, against her will on multiple occasions. He kicked and hit the victim in the head, threatened her with an axe, struck her with a light bulb and a piece of wood and strangled her multiple times, according to court documents.
On April 22, 2025, Rooks County Prosecutor Danielle Muir filed an amended complaint with the district court, and on April 28, Moran accepted a plea agreement.
Under the plea agreement, Moran agreed to plead guilty to rape, aggravated sexual battery and aggravated domestic battery, all felonies. The other charges were dropped.
With only one prior misdemeanor battery conviction, Moran faced a total of 161 months, or about 13 years and five months, in prison with the Kansas Department of Corrections.
According to the amended complaint, Moran, on two occasions, raped or forced the victim to engage in sexual intercourse.
Moran also committed sexual battery on the victim when she was unable to give consent during the same two incidents.
The final count, aggravated domestic battery, combined all of the prior reported crimes, from Aug. 23-26, 2024, into one charge.
Friday, Moran appeared in the Ellis County Courthouse in front of District Judge Curtis Brown, who handed down the 161-month sentence.
“What you have done, the sentence doesn’t make it any better. It doesn’t heal,” Brown said. “But it does serve justice.”
Moran was remanded back into the custody of the Rooks County Sheriff's Department and will be transferred to the Kansas Department of Corrections.