'Sexual Carnivore': California man who tried to blame twin brother for rape sentenced to 140 years in prison

A Californian man who tried to shift blame onto his twin brother for the rape of a 9-year-old girl and a jogger has been handed 140 years to life sentence this week.

The Orange County District Attorney's Office, in a statement, disclosed that genealogy technology played a pivotal role in solving the crimes that happened decades ago. The technology led investigators to Kevin Konther and his twin brother, implicated in the 1995 and 1998 assaults.

A judge on Monday delivered the maximum sentence allowable, condemning58-year-old Konther to 140 years to life behind bars.

The jury, as per the press release, found him guilty on multiple charges, including two felony counts of forcible rape, two felony counts of forcible oral copulation, one felony count of a forcible lewd act upon a child, and one felony count of a lewd and lascivious act with a minor.

Calling Konther "a sexual carnivore", as per The Mercury News, the judge at the sentencing said: "This is like a cat, a lion, a cheetah looking for prey."

"Vultures don’t do this to their young, rats don't do this."

How the conviction happened

Despite sharing identical DNA, covertly recorded conversations between the twin brothers after their arrests exposed incriminating statements by Kevin Konther.

While the twin brother has not faced charges, recorded discussions show that he was shocked by the allegations levied against Kevin.

"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," said the DA's office when Konther was initially convicted in February.

As per NBC News, the conviction in February stemmed from a jury finding Konther guilty of two counts of forcible rape, coupled with additional charges related to the molestation of a third victim—the 12-year-old daughter of a former girlfriend, as outlined by the prosecutor's office.

Charges against Konther

The heinous acts date back to 1995 when Konther, wielding a knife, forcibly raped a 9-year-old girl as she walked home in Lake Forest, situated southeast of Irvine in Orange County. In 1998, he ambushed and sexually assaulted a 32-year-old woman jogging in Mission Viejo.He was arrested in 2019.

(With inputs from agencies)