SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - A man prosecutors say hired a hitman while sitting in the Sarasota County Jail appeared in court today.

Leland Harper was first extradited from Lisbon, Portugal, to Portland, Oregon, in 2021, with the assistance of the FBI and Portuguese law enforcement. Harper was accused of having a sexual relationship with a young girl for more than five years, starting when she was four years old.

In 2023, he was convicted of 16 counts of using a child in sexually explicit conduct, 23 counts of sex abuse, three counts of unlawful sexual penetration, 14 counts of luring a minor, and additional charges. He was sentenced to 29 years in prison and was supposed to be locked up in Oregon until 2052.

According to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, they intercepted letters and rec

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