SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Brigham Young University said Friday that its standout wide receiver Parker Kingston is no longer a student at the Utah private school after his arrest this week on a first-degree felony rape charge.
Kingston, 21, made his first court appearance Friday in St. George, where prosecutors said a then-20-year-old woman told police that Kingston attacked her at her home last February. His arrest came after a year-long investigation in which detectives collected digital and forensic evidence and interviewed witnesses, Washington County Prosecutor Jerry Jaeger said.
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“I find by clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Kingston is a danger to the community,” Judge John Walton said during the hearing.
Still, Walton allowed Kingston to be released on $100,000 bail on Friday and immediately paid $10,000 cash to the court after Kingston was initially being held without bail.
His defense attorney, Cara Tangaro, agreed that Kingston must not contact his accuser or any potential witnesses, must stay off social media and wear a GPS ankle monitor to ensure he does not return to the southwestern Utah county except to appear in court. He appeared before a judge via remote video link from prison on Friday.
If convicted, he could be sentenced to five years to life in prison.
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Tangaro did not immediately respond Friday to email and phone messages seeking comment.
BYU spokesman Jon McBride said the administration and coaches were made aware of the investigation and charges against Kingston after he was arrested this week. He declined to answer whether Kingston was expelled or left the school voluntarily.
Kingston told St. George police that “all sexual activity” with the woman who accused him of rape was “consensual,” according to an affidavit released Thursday. The woman told investigators that she had made it clear to Kingston before he came to her home that she did not want to have sex with him, and when he initiated sex she told him multiple times to stop, the affidavit states.
Brigham Young University, the flagship university of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormons, has a strict honor code for students that prohibits all sexual relations between a man and a woman outside of marriage. Those who break the rule could face suspension, or for athletes, could be on the bench for weeks.
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Other top athletes, including Tulane quarterback Jake Retzlaff, chose to leave BYU when facing lengthy suspensions for honor code violations.
Kingston was BYU’s leading receiver last season.
He is expected to appear in court on February 25.