From Deseret News archives:
Plea deal lets sexual abuser avoid prison
He assaulted 2 women he met on sites for LDS singles
Two cases were pending in 4th District Court against Kent Parkinson, 26, who also will be released from the Utah County Jail as a result of the agreement with government prosecutors.
In all, Parkinson faced five counts of forcible sex abuse, two counts of forcible sodomy, 10 counts of rape and one count of aggravated kidnapping.
Parkinson entered a no-contest plea on Wednesday to all charges and will have those pleas held in abeyance for three years while he completes a series of requirements.
After those three years, if Parkinson is successful, the charges will be dropped and the case dismissed. If not, Parkinson will return to 4th District Court for sentencing and the possibility of consecutive 5-to-life maximum prison sentences.
In the first case, according to prosecutors, Parkinson touched a woman's breasts and genitals against her will during an at-home movie date in October 2004.
The second case began in a similar fashion. Parkinson and a woman met online and organized a rendezvous at an Orem home in December 2005. That's where, the woman said, he raped her repeatedly for 10 hours.
Utah County prosecutor Mariane O'Bryant said the victims OK'd the plea deal.
"Sometimes we make compromises based on the needs of the victims," O'Bryant said. In many cases, the more trauma a victim has suffered, the more difficult it is for him or her to go through the court process, she said.
Debbie Hill, Parkinson's attorney, said she had been discussing a resolution with the prosecutors for several months.
"I'm very hopeful that Kent will do (well)," Hill said. "This gives him a future."
With the agreement, Parkinson can't violate any other laws, excluding minor traffic tickets. He must get a psycho-sexual evaluation and go to sex-offender treatment.
Also, every 90 days, he must also send performance reports to the Utah County Attorney's Office.
Parkinson cannot log onto Internet chat sites and must pay $1,000 in court fees.
With the plea, Parkinson gives up his right to a jury trial, which was scheduled to begin mid-October.
E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com
