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By TYLER GASKILL
Courier Staff Writer

Two men are facing a combined nine counts of rape in the Cowley County District Court, with four out of five of the victims being under the age of 14 at the time of the alleged rapes.

Alejandro C. Hernandez has been charged with three counts of rape involving a set of eight-year-old twins and a 12-year-old, according to court documents.

Aaron W. Williard has been charged with six counts of rape involving an adult female and a 15-year-old.

The alleged rapes involving the eight-year-olds occurred between the dates of Nov. 1, 2007, and Feb. 1, 2008, and the alleged rape involving the 12-year-old occurred during the month of December 2007.

Cowley County Attorney Chris Smith declined to comment on the relationship Hernandez had with the children or the children's mother.

According to Smith, the alleged crimes were committed after Kansas passed its version of Jessica's Law. If convicted, Hernandez faces a tough prison sentence, a term of imprisonment for life, with the minimum being 25 years for each count of rape.

The judge would decide whether Hernandez would serve the three sentences consecutively or concurrently. If served concurrently, Hernandez would be in prison for a minimum of 25 years. If served consecutively, he would not be eligible for parole for at least 50 years.

"The judge can only as much as double the base sentence," Smith said. "He can't triple it, so we can't end up with 75 (years)."

Hernandez is currently being held at the Cowley County Jail on $200,000 bond. He will appear in court on March 3 for a preliminary hearing setting.

Williard's alleged rape of the adult took place on or about June 8, 2007. Williard allegedly raped the juvenile five times between May 12 and Aug. 15, 2006.

Although the juvenile was under 14 years of age at the time of the alleged rapes, Jessica's Law had not yet been passed in Kansas, Smith said.