Former Michigan township supervisor sentenced in 2010 cold case rape
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - The former supervisor of a Southwest Michigan township is headed to prison after DNA linked him to a 2010 rape.
Kenneth Dwayne Linn, 58, of Three Rivers was found guilty by a jury in March and sentenced to 19-50 years in prison this week. Linn previously served as the supervisor of Fabius Township.
According to Attorney General Dana Nessel, Linn volunteered to look after a golf course employee who was "extremely intoxicated" after an outing in St. Joseph County in 2010. During the event, he and other golfers encouraged the victim to drink.
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After leaving with the victim, Linn took her to a home in Portage, where he sexually assaulted her numerous times. Though the victim did not remember the assault, he was hurt, and a rape kit was taken.
However, the kit was not submitted for testing until years later, in 2016. No suspect was determined at that time.
In October 2021, the Kalamazoo Sexual Assault Kit Initiative unit received approval from the Michigan State Police Forensics Lab to resubmit the victim’s kit for further testing based upon advances in DNA testing. This additional testing identified Linn’s DNA on the victim’s cervical smears in 2022, and he was charged.
The victim read an impact statement before Linn was sentenced.
"No amount of time will erase the scars that he left behind. There is no going back to who I was before. I will always feel the need to protect myself. I will always be extra cautious because I know I’m vulnerable. But I won’t let the fear stop me from living a happy life, it just means I do it differently now," she said.