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PROVO — A Springville man accused of forcing teenage girls to have sex with multiple men in his home has been ordered to stand trial.
Kenneth Michael Bond, 67, is facing 38 felony counts stemming from allegations that he coerced two teenage girls into engaging in non-consensual sex acts with him and at least three other men and threatened a third girl into complying with his sexual demands.
After a hearing on the evidence against the man in 4th District Court Monday, Judge Steven Hansen ordered Bond to face a trial on the charges.
While one of Bond's alleged victims was testifying, Bond was tackled by a prison guard for being disruptive, said prosecutor Craig Johnson. The guards told Bond multiple times to stop turning around and talking to his former roommate, who was in the audience, but when the man stood up and took a swing at an officer, he was knocked down.
There was a break while Bond's attorney talked to him and he later returned for the remainder of the hearing, Johnson said.
Bond apparently met the victims, then 15 and 16, while they were attending an alternative high school and would pick them up in Provo while they were supposed to be in class. Johnson said the man first had them do yard and housework, but eventually started plying them with Lortab and alcohol, iPhones, clothing and trips to the hair and nail salon.
Eventually, Bond allegedly forced them to engage in non-consensual sex acts with him and at least three other men.
"He would berate the girls into doing that or doing things to him or he would turn off phones or threaten to kill them or their families," Johnson said. "There was threats and coercion. … These were vulnerable young ladies who were at a difficult time in their lives and he took advantage of them."
Bond paid the men to have sex with the teens in his home office and watched from a separate room using a camera he had set up, according to charging documents.
"On at least 10 occasions, Bond administered a 'DNA body wash' on the 16-year-old to wipe away any evidence of the prostituted sex," the charges state. He allegedly did the same thing to the 15-year-old girl and prosecutors allege that he fondled the girls in the process.
Johnson said the man acted as a "grandfather figure" and told the girls to call him "Pappy."
"But it quickly spiraled out of control," the prosecutor said.
The abuse was alleged to have occurred between January and July of 2011 for two of the alleged victims and in 2008 for the third victim. The third alleged victim was 17 at the time.
Bond threatened the third alleged victim with a handgun or with "Mafia hitmen" and forced her to engage in sex acts, charging documents state. She came forward after initial charges were filed against Bond in 2011 and told police she was also given money and other gifts by the man.
Bond is facing a total of 38 felonies, including object rape and aggravated sexual assault, first-degree felonies; aggravated exploitation of a prostitute, a second-degree felony; and unlawful sexual activity with a minor, a third-degree felony. A single count of rape, a first-degree felony, was dismissed Monday at the stipulation of attorneys on both sides of the case.
He was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to all of the charges Monday. According to a police affidavit, Bond has denied ever touching the girls.
"Bond told (police) he purchased three different young girls cellphones and now that he is shutting them off, they are trying to blackmail him," the affidavit states.
A five-day jury trial in the case was scheduled to begin on June 3. Bond is currently in prison on a one- to 15-year sentence for carrying a concealed dangerous weapon, a second-degree felony, in an unrelated case.
Email:emorgan@deseretnews.com
