This article contains information about sexual assault. If you or someone you know needs help, call the Rape & Sexual Assault Crisis Line at 1-(888)-421-1100.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A man accused of assaulting multiple women at a party in Davis County last year will serve five years to life in prison for multiple sex crimes.
Kevin Linford, 46, was arrested on March 14 of this year and charged with 10 felonies and one misdemeanor. Linford ran a men’s group called The Wolf Pack that he used to “organize social events for single people,” according to Salt Lake County Attorney’s Office Communications Manager Keith Chalmers. “He used his position as an organizer of the group to prey on his victims.”
[A] judge sentenced Linford to five years to life at the Utah State Correctional Facility for first-degree felony rape and 1 to 15 years for each of the three counts of second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse. The first-degree felony sentence will run consecutively to a recent Davis County sentence imposed on Mr. Linford for similar crimes; the three second-degree felony convictions will run concurrently to the Davis County sentence.
Salt Lake County Attorney’s Office Communications Manager Keith Chalmers
According to the arrest documents, a victim attended Linford’s party in Fruit Heights on August 6, 2022, where she met Linford, who reportedly invited her into a bedroom and asked her to kiss him. The victim said she kissed him, but when he grabbed her face, she pulled away and told him he was making her nervous and that she did not want to have sex. Linford then allegedly forced himself on her despite her objections and raped her.
A second victim was also in attendance at the party and met Linford as she was sitting by the pool. She told Linford she did not want to swim, but he pulled her into the pool. While in the pool, Linford forcefully grabbed the victim’s hand and put it on his genitals.
The victim told officers she tried to move away, but that he followed her from behind and sexually assaulted her several times as she was trying to escape. Video footage from the residence is consistent with her statement and was submitted as evidence.
“We want to recognize the bravery of the survivors and their willingness to come forward,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “While the Judge pointed out that Mr. Linford will get out of prison one day, the District Attorney’s office recognizes that there isn’t a long enough sentence for the multiple victims of the defendant’s conduct. We appreciate the hard work of our prosecutors, Andres Gonzalez and Sam Sutton, as well as our case manager for the victims, McKayla Greener, and our support staff.”
