COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - A judge has sentenced a convicted sex offender to 70 years in prison for savagely raping, beating, and killing a Colorado woman, whose body he then stuffed into a plastic tote.
According to the New York Post, the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office said that 42-year-old Gregory Alan Whittemore will spend several decades behind bars for the brutal attack that took place in October of 2022. At the time of the killing, Whittemore was on parole for an attempted sexual assault conviction when he met the victim, Allison Scarfone. He was given 10 years to life in prison, which he violated, and then a five-years-to-life prison term in 2017.
During the sentencing, which took place on Thursday, May 22nd, El Paso County District Court Judge Samuel Evig said, "Allison Scarfone deserved to live a long and fruitful life, yet she was brutally murdered by a violent sex offender who should have been in prison on his prior five years to life sentence."
He added, "This criminal justice system must do better to protect members of this community from people like this defendant. Violent sex offenders who are duly convicted for their crimes should be separated from society and held in prison for much longer than just five years." KRDO reported that Whittemore was required to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, do daily check-ins with his parole officer, and attend a series of sex offender treatment classes.
Whittemore had been paroled for less than a week when he coaxed Scarfone to his home, where he hit her, ripped off her clothes, and raped her following an argument.
The fight began after she blasted her assailant as rapist. Whittemore than strangled and smothered the victim, later hiding her body inside a black plastic bin in his garage. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree assault. Scarfone's family says the system failed Allison, whose life could have been preserved if Whittemore has still be in prison.
During the sentencing hearing, the defense said that mental health issues, including psychosis, are to blame for the various crimes Whittemore has committed.
In a separate incident, a previously convicted sex offender in the state of Texas has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography involving prepubescent minors. According to Newschannel10, on Tuesday, May 20th, acting U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meachem of the Northern District of Texas announced that 54-year-old Ronnie Craig Lance was sentenced for the crime.
Lance was charged in October 2024 and pleaded guilty in January 2025 to possession of prepubescent child pornography. Court documents show that Lance admitted to having nearly 1,400 videos and more than 71,000 images of child sexual abuse material on his personal laptop and other devices. U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk sentenced Lance to 240 months in federal prison.
In addition to his prison sentence, Lance was ordered to pay $140,000 in restitution to certain victims and will be subject to lifetime supervised release after finishing his prison term. Court records show that Lance was previously convicted of a similar offense in 2011 while living in Lubbock. He was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to child pornography charges.
The prosecution was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
