Man sentenced to 140 years for two rapes that he tried to pin on twin brother
The assaults have been unsolved since the late 1990’s
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A California man who tried to pin the rapes of a 9-year-old girl and a jogger on his twin brother has been sentenced to 140 years to life, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
The assaults took place in 1995 and 1998. Investigators using genealogy technology to search for a culprit were led to Kevin Konther and his twin brother in 2019, according to NBC News.
Both of the men were arrested in 2019, but recorded statements made by Kevin Konther led police to believe he was the sole culprit of the attacks.
"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," the office said in February, when Konther was convicted.
The twin brother is not facing charges. According to the DA's office, the brother was shocked at the allegations being made against his twin.
On Monday, Konther, 58, was sentenced to 140 years to life in prison, which is the maximum allowed.
The judge referred to Konther as a "sexual carnivore" during the sentencing, according to The Mercury News.
“This is like a cat, a lion, a cheetah looking for prey,” the judge said. “Vultures don’t do this to their young, rats don’t do this.”
The secretly recorded conversations that led police to Konther included him commenting that "I just hate women" and that he had a "chemical imbalance in my brain."
“I’ve been fighting that demon for a long time,” he said in the recordings.
He was convicted in February on two counts of forcible rape, as well as other charges. One of those charges was connected to the molestation of a third victim, a 12-year-old daughter of a former girlfriend, according to the prosecutor's office.
In 1995, Konther held a 9-year-old girl at knifepoint and raped her while she was walking home. During the trial, the victim said she pleaded with Konther to stop and told him her age, but said he simply laughed at her.
Then, in 1998, he ambushed and attacked a 32-year-old jogger in Mission Viejo, California, according to the prosecutor.
"The relentless pursuit of justice by the Orange County Sheriff's Department and the Orange County District Attorney's Office has ensured that another monster who preys on young girls and young women will never be free to jump out of the bushes again," District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.