Prosecutors claim judge is favoring career of former BYU football player charged with rape

ST. GEORGE, Utah (KSL) — Attorneys who filed a rape charge against former BYU football player Parker Kingston are asking the court to disqualify the judge overseeing his case, saying the woman who alleges she was a victim believes a new judge is necessary for a fair trial.

In a motion filed on Monday, Washington County Attorney Jerry Jaeger said there are “substantial concerns” about the appearance of 5th District Judge Jay Winward’s impartiality after he denied a request from the state to delay the trial.

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The attorney said the document was filed “reluctantly” and only after the judge refused to recuse himself. Jaeger said there is a “pattern of conduct” and statements, both in and out of hearings, favoring Kingston’s interests “based upon his status as a prominent athlete.”

“The alleged victim in this case has lost all confidence that she can receive a fair proceeding before Judge Winward. The victim seeks nothing more than the opportunity to present her testimony and have the allegations adjudicated before an impartial court and jury,” the motion said.

Kingston is currently scheduled for a jury trial from July 6 to July 10, with a pretrial conference on June 17.

Monday’s motion said the case has moved toward trial at a pace that does not match similar out-of-custody cases — “based, at least in part, upon the court’s stated concern for (Kingston’s) athletic career and related opportunities.”

“Reliance upon (Kingston’s) athletic career as a factor in scheduling decisions creates the appearance that (he) is receiving preferential and privileged treatment unavailable to ordinary criminal defendants,” it claims.

The filing states that in a hearing on May 18, Winward said he would consider Kingston’s sports career for scheduling trial dates — but should have given more weight to the woman’s medical and mental health concerns.

Jaeger said medical professionals told Winward that the woman needed 12 more weeks to be “medically and psychologically capable of testifying,” and an earlier trial could adversely affect or health. Her attorney was also unavailable on the dates the court set for the trial.

“The Court’s refusal to reasonably accommodate the victim’s medical needs, while simultaneously emphasizing the Defendant’s athletic career, creates a substantial appearance of partiality,” the motion contested.

In addition, Jaegar argued that Winward allowed Kingston’s attorneys to use the woman’s name twice during the preliminary hearing without holding them in contempt. He said the woman “reasonably” perceived these rulings to mean her interests were not protected while Kingston’s were.

The prosecutor also said Winward dismissed a separate case involving an athlete at a preliminary hearing, a decision that is currently under appeal.

Evidence at trial

Prosecutors also filed a motion on Monday asking the judge to deny a request from Kingston to allow the woman’s former boyfriend and three other men to testify, along with evidence of an alleged sexual assault and of “religious-guilt-based limitations on sexual activity.”

It said Utah Rules of Evidence prohibit the evidence except in certain circumstances, something known as the rape shield, and that the evidence is hearsay.

The motion Kingston filed asking to admit the evidence is private and not available to the public, but prosecutors said he argued his constitutional rights would be violated if the evidence were not allowed to be considered by a jury.

Prosecutors contested the claim, saying their case centers not around the woman’s sexual inexperience but on a lack of consent.

It said the woman and Kingston had planned to go on a double date after speaking for a month, and when that did not happen, she invited him to her home.

According to the filing, they talked about and participated in consensual sexual activities, but the woman had communicated prior to inviting Kingston over that she would not have sexual intercourse with him. Prosecutors allege that the woman left to get ready for bed, and when she returned, Kingston had sexual intercourse with her despite a lack of consent.

Kingston is charged with rape, a first-degree felony.