MAN DIES DAYS AFTER SEX OFFENSE SENTENCING

FULTON, Mo. -- A Jackson, Mo., man who had been sentenced to seven years in prison for sexually abusing a child died Thursday evening at a Missouri Department of Corrections intake facility.

Richard D. Park, 46, died of natural causes at the Fulton Reception and Diagnostic Center, said J.C. Steele, assistant superintendent at the facility.

"Right now it's under investigation, but we're not looking at any foul play," Steele said.

The center is where all male inmates entering the state prison system go for initial processing, said Tim Kniest, a Corrections Department spokesman.

Park had pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of sexual abuse against two girls, ages 8 and 10.

When Park was sentenced on Monday, he used a wooden cane to maneuver around the courtroom in Jackson and took a box of medications with him as a sheriff's deputy pushed him out in a wheelchair.

Corrections officials declined to discuss Park's medical condition.

An autopsy was performed on Park Friday afternoon, but results won't be available for some time, Kniest said. A toxicology report will be complete in four to six weeks, he said.

All male inmates go through a complete medical exam, which determines what medications they are taking and whether they need different medications before they are assigned to a more permanent facility, Kniest said.

Complete healthcare for inmates is provided at all Missouri prisons, he said.

"We have a facility at each level of custody that can handle all inmates' medical conditions," Kniest said.

The prisons have inmates who use canes, wheelchairs and other means of assistance, he said.