By MIKE GILMORE
Special to the Tribune
LARNED – An inmate of the Sexual Predator Treatment Program Unit at Larned State Hospital appeared Wednesday in Pawnee County District Court on charges of felony trafficking contraband in a care and treatment facility as the result of an ongoing investigation by LSH investigative staff.
Pawnee County Attorney Douglas McNett noted late Wednesday that Nicholas Andrew Stape, 46, appeared for an evidentiary preliminary hearing presided over by Magistrate Judge Dale Snyder and was bound over for arraignment on one count of trafficking contraband and one count of conspiracy to traffic contraband in a care and treatment facility. Arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 21.
If convicted, according to the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines for non-drug offenses, Stape faces between 17 and 46 months in the custody of the Kansas Department of Corrections, depending upon criminal history. Stape remains in the custody of SPTP on the LSH campus.
McNett noted that Stape is one of four residents that have been charged due to the ongoing investigation. Also charged were SPTP residents Timothy Roberts, 47; Albrandon Louis Fields, 48; and Johnny R. Palacioz Jr., 47. The LSH investigative unit has been assisted by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
Hearing testimony
Testimony presented at Stape’s hearing Wednesday afternoon indicated that LSH safety and security staff were first notified on Sept. 18, 2025, about concerns that Stape was following local teenagers on the TikTok social media platform.
A search of Stape’s room the following day did not locate the device used to access the internet, but unique items were seized that matched items seen in photos and videos posted to the social media account In question.
It is against the rules and regulations of LSH for any patient to possess cellular telephones or digital storage devices.
A broken cell phone was later found on Sept. 19, 2025, in a bathroom on the unit by SPTP resident Roberts. Testifying on behalf of the State, Roberts said that when he learned that Stape had possibly used the phone to reach out to underage children, he became emotional and physically confronted Stape. Roberts denied providing a cellular phone to Stape but admitted selling a cellular phone to another resident for $3,000.
An Oct. 9, 2025, room search of SPTP resident Fields located a cellphone and two SD cards. It was later determined the SD cards contained images and videos of Stape that were consistent with those posted to the social media account in question. Fields, also testifying on behalf of the State, told the Court that Stape had assisted him with setting up a Facebook account, but Fields denied making the videos in question or even being aware the images were on the SD cards that he had recently purchased from Roberts.
The LSH Special Investigator then testified Stape admitted he used another resident’s cellular telephone to make social media content with the intent of promoting a book Stape had written. Stape denied uploading the content to TikTok.
SPTP inmates exempt from regular registration
In 2016, the Kansas Legislature exempted individuals committed to the SPTP program from the requirement of updating their Kansas Offender Registration until they are placed in a reintegration facility, on transitional release or, on conditional release.
Under the Kansas Offender Registration Act, registered sex offenders are required to report in person every three months to the registering law enforcement agency in the county in which they reside, maintain employment or attend school.
As part of the quarterly registration, offenders are required to disclose to law enforcement: all email addresses and online identities used by the offender on the internet; information relating to membership in all personal web pages or online social networks; and internet screen names.
