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- Former Judge William Kendall appeared as a defendant on sexual abuse charges for the first time on Wednesday.
- Kendall waived his right to a preliminary hearing; an arraignment was set for June 23 where he can plead guilty or not guilty to charges.
- He stepped down from his position after charges were filed.
FARMINGTON — Former 3rd District Judge William Kendall logged onto WebEx, a video platform used by Utah courts, on Wednesday like he has done many times before — but this time as a defendant facing his own charges.
He spoke respectfully to Judge Jennifer Valencia, referring to her with "your honor" when confirming he waived his right to have the charges against him read and a preliminary hearing. His case was scheduled for an arraignment on June 23, where he will have the opportunity to plead either guilty or not guilty in front of his case's assigned judge, Robert Russell.
Kendall's attorney, Greg Skordas, said he is working on a resolution to the case with prosecutors.
The 54-year-old from Salt Lake County is charged in 2nd District Court with forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony; distribution or arranging to distribute a drug, a third-degree felony; plus marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia, class B misdemeanors.
He resigned as a judge on April 17 after the charges had been filed and Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz threatened to start considering impeachment if he did not step down. In his resignation letter, he called serving as a judge the "greatest honor of my life."
Kendall waited online for over an hour through other hearings for his case to be called, experiencing the opposite side of being in a courtroom from what he was used to.
The allegations stem from a gathering at Kendall's home on Feb. 21. Kendall, "who had been consuming alcohol with the others, also provided recreational tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to at least one of the female participants," according to charging documents. The woman says she used Kendall's "weed pen."
A second woman claims that at some point during the evening, Kendall inappropriately touched one of the women without her consent over her clothing, according to the charges.
Unified police served a search warrant on Kendall's home and seized THC products and paraphernalia, the charges state.
Deputy Davis County attorney Gage Arnold said the alleged victim in the case has not requested a protective order while Kendall's case is pending but wants to retain the ability to make that request.
Davis County attorneys filed the charges to avoid conflicts of interest with Salt Lake County attorneys, who are familiar with the former judge.
