KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A man who was once elected to public office in West Michigan will spend years behind bars for sexually assaulting a woman he and others helped get intoxicated.
Kenneth Linn, who once served as Fabius Township Supervisor, was sentenced Tuesday, April 16 on four counts of 1st Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. He will spend at least 18 years, 9 months for each charge and up to 50 years maximum. The judge ruled the terms will be served at the same time.
A jury convicted Linn of sexually assaulting a golf course employee back in 2010.
Linn volunteered to “look after” and take home an extremely intoxicated golf course employee after a golf outing in St. Joseph County. A group of golfers, including Linn, encouraged the woman to drink alcoholic beverages along with them.
Instead of taking her back to her home, Linn drove the woman to a house in Portage where he raped her multiple times. Attorney General Dana Nessel called the woman physically helpless because of her extreme intoxication. The victim could not give concent.
The victim has no memory of the acts but suffered physical injuries.
State officials say a sexual assault nurse exam (SANE) was conducted the day after the alleged incident took place, but the kit wasn’t forwarded to forensics experts with Michigan State Police until late 2014.
It is unclear if the kit was tested at all in 2014.
It was resubmitted to the state crime lab by Portage police in 2016. Again, it is unclear if it was tested at that time.
Kalamazoo County's Sexual Assault Investigation Initiative (SAKI) Team received approval in October 2021 to resubmit the kit to the state crime lab for "additional testing".
Those results eventually lead to the charges against Linn in 2022.
He was tried and convicted in March 2024.
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