1/8/2009

A 44-year-old Salina man was convicted Thursday of aggravated criminal sodomy and faces a possible life sentence. After about 25 minutes of deliberation Thursday morning, a Saline County District Court jury found Vernon R. Gilliland guilty of performing oral sex on a 12-year-old girl. During the trial, the girl’s mother testified that she walked into her living room in June 2007 and thought she saw her boyfriend performing oral sex on her daughter. The woman — described by prosecutor Christina Trocheck, an assistant county attorney, as a hostile witness — later decided Gilliland might have been suffering from a seizure at the time. Under Jessica’s Law, which establishes tougher penalties for sex offenders whose victims are children, Gilliland could face a life sentence with no eligibility for parole for 25 years. District Judge Daniel Hebert will preside at the Feb. 13 sentencing.