Jury recommends life sentence in Kansas City child sex case

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Kansas City man faces life in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing a young girl while her mother worked.

The Jackson County Prosecutor's office said Adalberto Gaitan, 36, was convicted Tuesday of two counts of first-degree statutory rape, two counts of statutory sodomy and one count of first-degree statutory sodomy.

The jury recommended life plus 25 years for the statutory rape convictions. Jurors also recommended one-year and 20-year sentences for the statutory sodomy convictions and 10 years for the first-degree statutory sodomy count.

Court records show that Missouri Children's Division workers received a hotline call that a 10-year-old girl was possibly being abused. The girl told investigators the abuse started when she was 8 or 9.

Prosecutors said the abuse occurred in an Independence home while the girl's mother was working long hours and Gaitan was staying with children there.

Gatian will be sentenced Aug. 31.