Utah judge charged with forcible sexual abuse

Pat Reavy, KSL.com

WEST JORDAN, Utah (KSL.com) — Third District Court Judge William Kenneth Kendall, who has been on administrative leave pending an undisclosed criminal investigation, was charged on Wednesday for allegedly abusing a woman in his home.

The 54-year-old judge from Salt Lake City was charged in 3rd District Court with forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony; distribution or arranging to distribute a drug, a third-degree felony; and marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor.

The charges were filed by Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings to avoid a conflict of interest with the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office.

Kendall, a former deputy district attorney in Salt Lake County, is represented by attorney Greg Skordas.

“Judge William Kendall has humbly served the people of Utah for over 25 years, first as a deputy district attorney, then as an assistant U.S. attorney, and currently as judge on Utah’s 3rd District Court. He has undergone rigorous vetting in order to be a member of the judiciary, and until now has never been the subject of an allegation of professional misconduct. Judge Kendall is presumed innocent,” Skordas said Wednesday in a prepared statement.

The allegations stem from a gathering at Kendall’s home on Feb. 21, according to charging documents. Kendall, “who had been consuming alcohol with the others, also provided recreational tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to at least one of the female participants,” the charges state. The woman says she used Kendall’s “weed pen.”

The woman claims during the evening, Kendall inappropriately touched her without her consent over her clothing, according to the charges.

Unified police served a search warrant on Kendall’s home and seized THC products and paraphernalia, the charges state.

A spokeswoman for Utah Courts said Kendall is currently not presiding over any cases due to the investigation.