Woman now faces same rape charges as polygamist husband

Woman now faces same rape charges as polygamist husband

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WEST JORDAN — A woman already serving time in the Utah State Prison for her part in a bizarre murder plot now faces the same sex abuse charges her polygamist husband was convicted of.

Raven Blackwing, 26, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with forcible sodomy and seven counts of rape, first-degree felonies, and three counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony. Her husband, Kain Blackwing, 49, was convicted of those same charges in 2017, but has filed a motion for a new trial.

The victim in the case was 17 at the time of the assault, according to court records.

The charges are the latest chapter in the drawn out, complicated and sometimes bizarre saga involving the Blackwings.

Kain Blackwing refers to himself as a "Shen Lord" and a god, according to court records, and Raven Blackwing told others he had "supernatural abilities." Kain Blackwing taught "fighting and survival skills" to others, purportedly had multiple wives and told his followers that the only way out of the relationship was death, according to court records.

While teaching survival skills to a 17-year-old girl and her boyfriend, Kain Blackwing convinced the girl to leave her boyfriend and move in with him, according to charging documents. After she moved in, Blackwing raped her multiple times, the charges state. The new charges allege that Raven Blackwing also participated in raping the teen and helped with the upkeep of Kain Blackwing's home, knowing he was engaging in sexual relations with the girl, the charges state.

The charges do not indicate why prosecutors filed charges against Raven Blackwing now and not earlier.

Raven Blackwing was earlier charged with giving false or inconsistent marital statements, a second-degree felony, and accused of lying to authorities about her age during the time she was also engaged in sexual relations with Kain Blackwing.

Kain Blackwing was also charged in 2014 with forcible sexual abuse for abusing a 14-year-old girl. He was eventually convicted and sentenced to prison,

But four days before that girl was scheduled to testify against him in court, two women described as dressing like ninjas because they wore all black clothing — including black masks and black latex gloves and who were armed with a variety of items including a stun gun, a knife, a large piece of Saran wrap, matches, a screwdriver, syringes, an arm tourniquet and formalin — broke into the West Jordan house where the girl was staying.

The two women — Raven Blackwing and the 17-year-old girl — were stopped by the occupants of the house and held until police arrived. They were charged with aggravated burglary, aggravated assault and retaliation against a witness or victim and were later convicted. The teen was sentenced to probation, which she successfully completed. Raven Blackwing, was ordered to serve up to 15 years in the Utah State Prison.

Kain Blackwing was later charged with plotting to kill the 14-year-old girl whom he was convicted of sexually abusing. The next hearing in that case is scheduled for Dec. 11.

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Pat Reavy is a longtime police and courts reporter. He joined the KSL.com team in 2021, after many years of reporting at the Deseret News and KSL NewsRadio before that.

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