The former partner of Cedar City police detective Kelvin Orton testified he was torn personally and professionally when a woman he was developing a relationship with told him Orton had raped her.
Former officer Lane Russell, testifying Tuesday at Orton's rape trial, said before he knew about the woman's allegations, he was developing a personal relationship with her.Russell testified the woman first told him she was raped by a co-worker, but in March 1993 said it was not a co-worker but someone he (Russell) knew. When Russell guessed Orton, the woman said, "Yes."
Because of his growing relationship with the woman, Russell told the court, he was torn. As a police officer, he supported her wanting justice, but as her boyfriend could understand her desire to keep the matter private.
"I told her she should have told someone immediately," Russell testified. "She said she felt ashamed, like she'd gotten herself into it."
The woman and Russell testified they had some hesitations about talking to Iron County Attorney Scott Burns and Cedar City Police Chief Pete Hansen because the men were friends of Orton and that would cloud their objectivity.
They eventually confided in Garth Wilkinson, Russell's boss as the head of the Iron-Beaver County Drug Task Force.
Before the meeting with Wilkinson, Russell testified he typed a statement given him by the victim listing what occurred during the alleged rape. The statement indicated the crime occurred on Dec. 28, 1992, two days later than the woman claims.
Wilkinson testified Tuesday that at the time it felt like the rape charge was something they wanted to hold over Orton's head.
The allegations first came to light in a deposition given by the woman as part of a civil suit.
Charges were not filed until Jan. 6, 1995, after Russell and the woman went to the Utah Attorney General's Office with their concerns about not being treated fairly by Iron County authorities.
Orton's lawyer, Ron Yengich, argued Tuesday there were too many holes in the case. He said the hesitation to press charges immediately after the alleged crime was not consistent with what rape victims do. Nor were Russell's actions reflective of what a police officer would do knowing a crime had been committed.
Yengich also noted the discrepancies between when the alleged victim said the crime occurred and Russell's typed statement.
Yengich suggested the pair devised the allegations to get back at Orton who had given Russell a bad recommendation after his contract with the drug task-force expired, effectively putting Russell out of a job.