Man gets 12 life sentences for Kansas City rapes

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A Kansas City man is sentenced to 12 consecutive life sentences plus 120 years for raping a dozen women in the city's Westport area in the 1980s.

The Kansas City Star reports that 52-year-old Shy Bland showed no emotion as Jackson County Judge Ann Mesle imposed the sentence Friday. Bland also listened as several of his victims asked the judge for the harshest potential sentence.

Jurors convicted Bland in June of the rapes, as well as five attempted rapes and other crimes.

The victims ranged in age from 21 to 40 and lived near Bland.

A police lab matched Bland's DNA to evidence from the old rape cases three years ago. The connection came just before Bland became eligible for parole on a 115-year sentence for another rape.