West Michigan supervisor charged after rape kit went untested for more than 10 years
Ken Linn, supervisor of Fabius Township. Photo via Facebook page.
FABIUS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX 2) - The supervisor of a west Michigan township was charged with four counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct for an incident that happened in 2010.
The charges against Kenneth Dwyane Linn, 57, come following a review of rape kits that had been collected around the state but were never tested until years later.
Linn, a resident of Three Rivers, faces life in prison for the assault, which happened while the victim was intoxicated, unable to give consent and was "physically helpless," a release from the state Attorney General's office said.
Following his arraignment, Linn's bond was set at $100,000 cash surety.
Linn allegedly assaulted a woman during a golf outing held in Kalamazoo County in August 2010. A sexual assault nurse exam was performed the following day when samples were preserved for an evidence collection kit. However, the kit was not submitted to Michigan State Police until December 2014.
It was eventually returned to the Portage Police Department untested in 2015.
In 2016, after the state launched its Sexual Assault Kit testing initiative, the Portage Police Department submitted the kit to a forensics lab in Salt Lake in Utah for DNA testing. In 2021, Kalamazoo received approval to resubmit the rape kid for further testing.
Linn was charged as a result of the analysis.
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"Too many victims of sexual assault have waited years to see charges filed in their cases," said Attorney General Dana Nessel. "I am proud to partner with the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor on this important work and I am committed to see justice delivered for these victims."
He's expected to have a pre-exam conference Nov. 3 and preliminary examination on Nov. 10.