Orem man held on rape charges

PROVO — An Orem man accused of sexually assaulting two women he met through Web sites for LDS singles remains in the Utah County Jail pending a May trial and other court proceedings.

Kent Parkinson, 25, is charged with five second-degree felony charges of forcible sex abuse from a case in October 2004. A woman alleges she met him online, the two met and while watching a movie, he sexually assaulted her.

Parkinson also faces 10 charges of rape, two charges of forcible sodomy and two charges of kidnapping, all first-degree felonies, for allegedly holding a woman hostage and raping her repeatedly in December 2005.

The December case is scheduled for a trial in May, and on Tuesday, Parkinson's lawyer, Debbie Hill, asked for proceedings in the 2004 case to be delayed until May 2 — the same day Parkinson will have a pretrial conference for the December case.

Parkinson has been in the Utah County Jail since Dec. 7 on $250,000 cash-only bail. Such a high bail amount, usually given to men and women charged with serious crimes, typically prevents an inmate from working in the jail.

At Hill's request, Judge Samuel McVey ruled on Wednesday that Parkinson can now work in the kitchen.