Serial Kansas City sex offender gets life in prison for assaulting girls ages 12 and 14

A Northland man with a history of sexual assault crimes has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the rapes of two young girls that allegedly occurred in Kansas City last summer.

Brian K. Keeling, 55, was found guilty in August of statutory rape and two counts of statutory sodomy following a jury trial held in Platte County Circuit Court. He was arrested and accused of felony sex crimes involving two sisters ages 12 and 14, according to prosecutors.

According to court records, the FBI identified Keeling as a suspect after being contacted by Children’s Mercy Hospital. Two juvenile victims were brought there by their mother, who told authorities that Keeling made them take off their clothes and took photographs of them.

One of the girls was raped and the other sexually touched, they told investigators. One sister told investigators she was paid $140 to keep quiet about the photos and the rape, court documents show. Both also accused Keeling of abusing them previously that summer.

Keeling was convicted of unrelated sex crimes on two earlier occasions. In 1995, he pleaded guilty to rape, forcible sodomy and kidnapping in Jackson County Circuit Court. And in 2003 he pleaded guilty to a separate Jackson County case of statutory rape and statutory sodomy.

Keeling was sentenced to probation for the first offense. In the second case, he was sentenced to 7 years in prison but was released early on parole.

Records with the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s registry of sex offenders show Keeling was last released from prison in October 2006.

Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said Monday that Keeling is a “dangerous sexual predator who hurt many people.”

“It’s only appropriate that he will finally spend the rest of his life in prison where he can’t hurt another girl,” Zahnd said in a statement.

Kansas City police investigated the case alongside the FBI. In a statement Monday, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said the outcome was the result of coordination between local and federal law enforcement agencies.

“The FBI, KCPD and Platte County Prosecutor’s Office were committed to keeping our community safe and persistent in ensuring this dangerous offender was held accountable,” Graves said.