Man in prison for life for sexual abuse appeals sentence

A Watertown man who with his wife was sentenced Feb. 19 to life in federal prison for repeatedly sexually abusing children has appealed the sentence.

Christopher I. Jansen, 29, appealed the U.S. District Court judgment Friday to the U.S. Court of Appeals, according to documents filed Friday in district court. His wife, Amanda D. Jansen, 28, appealed her sentence Feb. 24. The grounds for the appeals are not specified in court documents.

Both had pleaded guilty in October to charges that they conspired to bring children from Kentucky to Watertown for the purpose of sexually abusing them and that they did abuse them. Both were sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The couple still face sentences of 15 years to life at sentencing March 15 in Jefferson County Court for a Nov. 6 guilty plea to charges of predatory sexual assault against a child. That case involves a 1-year-old victim who is separate from the victims in the federal case.