California man who tried to blame twin brother for two rapes jailed for 140 years

Kevin Konther, 58, convicted of rape of girl in 1995 and woman in 1998, confessed to crimes in secret recordings

A California man who attempted to blame his identical twin brother for rapes he committed in the 1990s has been sentenced to 140 years in prison.

Kevin Konther, 58, of Highland, California, was sentenced after being convicted of the rapes of a girl in 1995 and a woman in 1998, the Orange county district attorney’s office said in a statement.

Judge Richard M King imposed the maximum sentence against Konther.

In 1995, Konther raped a nine-year old girl at knifepoint while she was walking home from a store in Lake Forest, a city in Orange county.

Three years later in 1998, Konther attacked and raped a 32-year old woman who was jogging in Mission Viejo.

Konther and his twin brother were arrested in 2019 after genealogy technology connected the pair to the crimes.

Conversations secretly recorded between Konther and his brother after their arrests further incriminated Konther. But while Konther’s brother was confused by the arrests, the Orange County Register reported, Konther admitted he had committed the crimes.

The twin brother was not charged.

The district attorney’s office said in a press release in February: “Identical twins share the same DNA, but conversations covertly recorded between the two brothers following their arrests revealed multiple incriminating statements made by Kevin Konther, including admissions that he carried out the crimes.”

Following the arrests, Konther repeatedly apologized to his brother, saying he had a “chemical imbalance” in his brain.

“I’m a criminal in my past. I have serious issues. Now I’ve got to pay for it, and I don’t want to,” Konther said, according to the recorded conversations.

Konther also told his twin that he had been “fighting that demon for a long time”.

“I just hate women, that’s my problem,” Konther said.

Konther’s defense team said Konther was taking the blame for crimes committed by his twin brother and may have simply repeated details of the rapes, knowing he was being recorded.

Konther was convicted of the two rapes in February. He was also convicted of molesting his former girlfriend’s daughter while she pretended to be asleep.

He will not be eligible for parole.

• Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html