Appeals court: Joplin man who pleaded guilty to sex crimes against 5-year-old girl should have court-appointed lawyer

A Joplin man who is serving a 20-year sentence on two counts of statutory sodomy involving a 5-year-old girl will have a chance to appeal his sentence, but he faces an uphill battle.

The MissourI Southern District Court of Appeals today ruled Kenneth Raye Corcran II (DOB 2002) should have been appointed counsel to represent him in his appeal.

Jasper County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Hensley ruled against Corcran's request for counsel, because Corcran was appealing the sentence after the deadline.

The appellate panel said Hensley erred by not allowing Corcran to have a court-appointed attorney.

That attorney can deal with the timeliness of Corcran's appeal, according to the decision.

Under a plea agreement reached with the Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney's office in 2024, two of the four statutory sodomy charges were dismissed and he was sentenced to 20 years on each remaining case with the sentences to run concurrently. Corcran will be required to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence.

According to the probable cause statement, Corcran entered the child's bedroom, told her she was having a dream, removed her underwear and performed a sex act.

As he left the room, the probable cause statement said, Corcran told the girl "it was OK if it hurt a little."

A short time later, Corcran came back in the room and repeated the same acts. After leaving the room a second time, he did not return.

The probable cause statement says Corcran is not related to the child.