William Chamness, 55, of Portland, was sentenced to 90 years in prison for 14 felony offenses related to sex crimes against children.
His case appeared Monday before Circuit Court Judge Brouck Jacobs.
Chamness was accused of inappropriate touching, molestation and rape of two minors from July 2010 to May 2016, according to the probable cause statement. The events took place at residences in Portland and New Bloomfield.
When the charges were filed in March 2017, Chamness fled from Callaway County. Investigators worked with law enforcement agencies in several states to locate and apprehend him in Colorado.
Chamness was found guilty of the offenses by a Callaway County jury following a two-day trial held in January. The jury found Chamness guilty of the offenses: one count of first-degree child molestation, four counts first-degree statutory rape, and nine counts first-degree statutory sodomy. These crimes were against two victims and occurring between 2011-16.
The same jury found Chamness not guilty of two other charges of child molestation and statutory sodomy in the first degree.
Criminal charges were filed against Chamness in 2017 when one of the girls disclosed the sexual abuse, as well as the abuse of the other victim that she had witnessed. The second victim corroborated the sexual abuse when she was interviewed.
Both girls reported the abuse began when they were about 8 years old and continued until they were 13 years old, and occurred in three different locations in Callaway County.
The judge sentenced Chamness to 15 years in prison for the child molestation charge and 30 years in prison on each of the statutory rape and statutory sodomy charges. The judge ordered one of the sentences for statutory rape run consecutively to all other sentences.
The judge further ordered that one of the sentences for statutory sodomy run consecutively to the sentence for statutory rape and all other sentences for a total of 90 years in prison.
The case was prosecuted by First Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Ben Miller and Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Wilson. The case was defended by the Public Defender's Office. The case was investigated by the Callaway County Sheriff's Office.
The court also addressed the following cases:
Charles Wayne Bentley, 55, of Fulton, failed to appear in court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
David Charles Johnson Jr., 42, of Jefferson City, failed to appear in court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Dana Denise Shepard, 38, of Auxvasse, failed to appear in court. A warrant remains outstanding for her arrest.