Utah’s 5th District Court Judge Jay Winward dismissed a rape charge against Parker Kingston on Thursday after denying another request to delay the jury trial.
Kingston was scheduled for a jury trial from July 6 to July 10, but after hearing arguments from both sets of attorneys on the prosecutors’ request to delay the trial to give the alleged victim more time to prepare, Winward denied the request and dismissed the case without prejudice.
Prosecutors asked for a written ruling on the decision not to delay the case, which is needed to initiate an appeal, and said they still would not be ready for the trial, asking instead for a status conference next week. Instead of setting a status conference, Winward said he is allowed to dismiss a case if he finds it would further justice and if either party has requested it. He dismissed the case without prejudice, noting that the alleged victim could seek to bring it back at any time.
Winward reviewed the potential impacts on everyone involved before deciding not to delay the case.
He said prosecutors delayed filing the case for a year so the woman who came forward to accuse Kingston of rape had time to prepare, and he was not sure that there was support that if she was not ready to testify now, she would be in a few months.
He said he was “a little baffled” that prosecutors were not asking to dismiss the case without prejudice to allow the woman to heal without a timeline.
The judge said they routinely consider careers in trial scheduling and that he was not just considering Kingston’s career but his education and family.
Winward previously denied a request to delay the trial without a specific new date; this time, prosecutors had asked to delay it until September.
This story will be updated.