What are the charges against Kevin Konther? California man who tried to frame twin brother for rape gets 140 years behind bars

Trigger warning: This article talks about the sexual abuse of minors. Reader's discretion is advised.

On Monday, January 29, authorities sentenced Kevin Konther to 140 years in jail. Kevin was found guilty of kidnapping and raping a 9-year-old girl, a jogger, and abuse of a 12-year-old girl in three separate incidents. Kevin was taken into custody in February 2019 for his crime, during which Konther attempted to assign the crimes to his twin brother to avoid charges.

Orange County Sheriff's office released a statement (Image via X / @OCSheriff)

PEOPLE reported that according to the press release, a jury found him guilty on two charges of forced abuse, two counts of forceful oral copulation, one crime of forcible lewd act with a child, and one count of lewd and lascivious act with a juvenile. As per The Mercury News, Judge Richard M. King called the 58-year-old Highland resident Kevin Konther “a sexual carnivore” while imposing the maximum punishment.

The judge added,

“This is like a cat, a lion, a cheetah looking for prey. Vultures don’t do this to their young, rats don’t do this."

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Kevin Konther has been sentenced to 140 years in prison

The Orange County District Attorney's Office took over the case (Image via the Orange County Sheriff's Department / Instagram / Orange County District Attorney)

The DA's office confirmed with PEOPLE that Konther was sentenced to 140 years to life in state prison on Friday, January 31, for these crimes.

According to PEOPLE, the DA's office reported that in October 1995, Konther "grabbed" the 9-year-old girl as she was walking home after purchasing school supplies and assaulted her. The child eventually managed to get away and told her mother about the incident. Three years later, in June 1998, Kevin Konther assaulted a 32-year-old lady while she was out on a jog.

As per the Mercury News, the investigators were unable to identify a suspect at the time but were able to progress rapidly because of the DNA that showed that the same individual committed both crimes.

In 2018, the Orange County sheriff's investigators revisited the investigation by utilizing state-of-the-art familial DNA searches in collaboration with the FBI's Genealogy Team. Kevin Konther and his twin brother's DNA similarities lead investigators to them. Both were arrested and secretly videotaped while waiting to be booked into jail in a police car. As per CBS News, the prosecutors claimed that Kevin Konther initially attempted to pin the crimes on his identical twin brother.

Many social media users also uploaded the news on X (Image via X / @VikkiVargasOC)

The Mercury News further reported that the taped conversation between the brothers amounted to Kevin Konther's repeated admission of guilt to his bewildered brother. He was sentenced to prison in February 2019.

As per NBC News, addressing the entire incident, the DA’s office said,

"Identical twins share the same DNA, but conversations covertly recorded between the two brothers following their arrests revealed multiple incriminating statements made by Kevin Konther, including admissions that he carried out the crimes."

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The Mercury News also reported that Deputy District Attorney Juliet Oliver characterized Konther as a "calculated" abuser who carefully considered every act.

On the other hand, no charges were brought against the twin brother. According to the district attorney's office, he expressed disbelief at the accusations made against his brother during the recorded discussions.