SHAWNEE COUNTY —A Kansas man has been sentenced to life in prison for the sexual abuse of his stepson, according to District Attorney Mike Kagy.
Steven Dale Dishner, 46, will be eligible to see the parole board after serving 25 years.
In July of 2017, the Topeka Police Department was contacted in reference to Dishner sexually abusing his stepson, who was 10 at the time of the report.
The abuse was alleged to have occurred in 2011 and 2012. Dishner was arrested and charged in 2018. He was convicted of Aggravated Criminal Sodomy in October of 2018. However, in September of 2020 the Kansas Court of Appeals found that there was an error in the jury instructions during the first trial and the conviction was overturned.
The case was then returned to district court for a new trial. Dishner was again convicted after a jury trial in September of 2021.