{"id":1306,"date":"2026-06-09T17:37:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T17:37:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1306"},"modified":"2026-06-09T17:37:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T17:37:43","slug":"is-judge-giving-former-byu-football-star-preferential-treatment-in-rape-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1306","title":{"rendered":"Is judge giving former BYU football star preferential treatment in rape case?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>KEY POINTS<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Prosecutors filed a motion to disqualify Judge Jay Winward in the Parker Kingston rape case.<\/li>\n<li>The county attorney argues that the former BYU football star is getting preferential treatment.<\/li>\n<li>The alleged victim in the case questions whether she can get a fair trial.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Prosecutors want to disqualify the judge in the Parker Kingston case because they believe the alleged rape victim can\u2019t get a fair trial because the former BYU football star is receiving preferential treatment.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1304\">Wildfire on Tooele County mountainside grows rapidly overnight<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Washington County Attorney Jerry Jaeger filed a motion Monday to disqualify 5th District Judge Jay Winward after he declined an earlier request to voluntarily recuse himself. Jaeger wrote that there are \u201csubstantial concerns\u201d about the judge\u2019s ability to remain fair and impartial in the case.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe alleged victim in this case has lost all confidence that she can receive a fair proceeding before Judge Winward,\u201d Jaeger wrote. \u201cThe victim seeks nothing more than the opportunity to present her testimony and have the allegations adjudicated before an impartial court and jury.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kingston, 22, faces one count of felony rape. A 20-year-old woman identified in court documents as A.M. reported that Kingston sexually assaulted her on Feb. 23, 2025, in her St. George apartment. She notified police of the assault on Feb. 27 at St. George Regional Hospital, according to a probable cause statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the outset of the proceedings, Judge Winward stated that the defendant\u2019s status as a sports figure would not affect the court\u2019s handling of the case,\u201c Jaeger wrote. \u201dSubsequent proceedings, however, have reflected the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Is Parker Kingston getting preferential treatment?<\/h3>\n<p>In the motion, Jaeger outlines a pattern of \u201cconduct, statements made on and off the record and repeated actions favoring the defendant\u2019s interests based upon his status as a prominent athlete\u201d that he argues have created concerns regarding impartiality. It includes repeated consideration of Kingston\u2019s athletic career, refusal to accommodate the victim\u2019s medical needs and unequal enforcement of courtroom directives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost notably, during this last hearing held on May 18, 2026, Judge Winward expressly stated on the record that he needed to consider the defendant\u2019s athletic sports career in determining scheduling matters. The court relied upon the defendant\u2019s sports career when setting trial dates despite being fully informed of serious medical\/mental health concerns affecting the alleged victim,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Jaeger contends that the judge relying on Kingston\u2019s athletic career as a factor in scheduling decisions creates the appearance of preferential and privileged treatment not available to ordinary criminal defendants.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1302\">Deseret News archives: Improbable story of Jazz arrival in Utah from New Orleans<\/a><\/p>\n<p>BYU announced in February that Kingston is no longer a student at the school and was removed from the football team. His future football career is unclear.<\/p>\n<h3>Are the victim\u2019s rights being recognized?<\/h3>\n<p>The \u201ctriggering\u201d event that led to the motion to disqualify was Winward\u2019s refusal to grant the prosecution\u2019s request for a continuance to give the alleged victim more time for treatment and recovery to be able to participate in the trial, Jaeger wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The request, he wrote, was supported by medical professionals who said the woman required about 12 additional weeks before she would be medically and psychologically capable of testifying.<\/p>\n<p>Despite that information, Winward scheduled the trial six weeks out from the May 18 hearing. \u201cIt was during that hearing that the court made statements and rulings which, when viewed objectively, caused the state and the victim to clearly question the court\u2019s impartiality and necessitated the filing of this motion,\u201d Jaeger wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The trial is scheduled to start July 6.<\/p>\n<p>The county attorney also noted that during the preliminary hearing, Winward instructed participants that the victim\u2019s real name was not to be disclosed. He wrote that the judge failed to take action or hold Kingston\u2019s defense attorney in contempt for using the victim\u2019s name two separate times.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe victim reasonably perceived this unequal enforcement as further evidence that her interests were receiving less protection than the defendant\u2019s interests throughout the proceedings,\u201d Jaeger wrote. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=1300\">Usha Vance invites children to \u2018watch history come alive\u2019 this summer<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prosecutors argue alleged victim can\u2019t get a fair trial<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1305,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-byu-cougars"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Is judge giving former BYU football star preferential treatment in rape case? 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