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*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:*

November 30, 2022




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Former Fabius Township Supervisor Heads to Trial on Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Case





*LANSING *– The former Fabius Township Supervisor accused of sexual assault has been bound over to circuit court on multiple felony criminal sexual conduct charges, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting announced today.  

Kenneth Dwyane Linn, 57, of Three Rivers, is charged with four counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct, which is punishable by up to life in prison. Judge Tiffany Ankley of the 8th District Court heard more than five hours of testimony from multiple people including the victim and a witness who was with the victim prior to the sexual assault.  

In 2022, Linn’s DNA was found on evidence swabs collected from the victim’s body. The court found probable cause that Linn committed four types of sexual penetration*,* and that Linn knew or should have known that the victim was physically helpless due to extreme intoxication and unable to give consent. The court also found probable cause that the victim sustained physical injury and mental anguish that was still apparent in court as a result of being sexually assaulted by Linn. The case will now be assigned to a 9th Circuit Court judge.  

The alleged assault took place in Portage, Michigan after a golf outing at a course in St. Joseph County in August 2010. A sexual assault nurse exam (SANE) was performed the following day. During the exam, the registered nurse collected samples from the victim and preserved them in a sexual assault evidence collection kit. The victim’s sexual assault kit (SAK) was not submitted to the Michigan State Police Forensics Lab until December 2014. It was ultimately returned to the Portage Police Department untested in late January of 2015.   

In 2016, as part of the state-wide Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) testing initiative, the Portage Police Department submitted the victim’s SAK to Sorenson Forensics Lab in Salt Lake, Utah for DNA testing. In October of 2021, Kalamazoo SAKI received approval from the MSP Forensics Lab to resubmit for further testing. The results of that analysis led to charges against Linn.   

The state’s SAKI (Sexual Assault Kit Initiative) was established in 2016 to investigate and prosecute sexual assaults related to previously untested sexual assault evidence kits. The SAKI project provides sexual assault victims with the opportunity to have their case re-investigated in a comprehensive, trauma-informed manner.    

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*"Please note: "*"A criminal charge is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The Attorney General's office does not provide booking photos; however, one is available from the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor’s Office."  






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