SEDGWICK COUNTY – A Kansas priest of the Catholic Diocese of Salina arrested Wednesday in Wichita for alleged child sex crimes is now being held in a north central Kansas jail.
Just after 5p.m. Thursday, 44-year-old Ryan McCandles of Wichita was booked into the Republic County Jail in Belleville, according to online jail records.
On Wednesday, KBI agents arrested McCandless on an arrest warrant for three counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, according to a media release from the KBI.
The arrest occurred at a residence in the 2100 block of S. Erie St. in Wichita. The Sedgwick County Fugitive Warrant Unit assisted with the arrest.
The Republic County Sheriff’s Office requested KBI assistance on Sept. 15, 2025. The charges allege that between July and September 2025, McCandless sexually abused a 6-year-old child in Belleville, Kansas. The Diocese of Salina suspended McCandless from ministry when they were made aware of the reported incidents.
Following his arrest, McCandless was booked into the Sedgwick County Detention Facility.
McCandless had most recently been the pastor of three parishes in Republic County, Kansas: St. Edward Parish in Belleville, St. George Parish in Munden, and St. Isidore Parish in Cuba, Kansas. Additionally, he previously served parishes in Hays, Manhattan, Mankato, Concordia and Esbon.
Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to call the KBI at 1-800-KS-CRIME. Anonymous tips can also be submitted online at www.kbi.ks.gov/sar.