Booking photo for Karsten Hinckley (Courtesy: Cache County Jail)
LOGAN — A 27-year-old Logan man has been ordered to serve one year in jail for sexually abusing a woman while on a date in 2019. Karsten McKinley Hinckley showed no emotion as he was taken into custody by bailiffs and led out of the courtroom, after a judge called his actions “unacceptable and not tolerated in society.”
Hinckley was sentenced Monday morning in 1st District Court. He previously accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to an amended charge of forcible sex abuse, a second-degree felony.
Logan City police officers began investigating Hinckley after the victim contacted 911 on Dec. 26, 2019. She explained how she was on a date with the defendant when he sexually assaulted her.
Hinckley cooperated with police when they contacted him hours later. He was booked into the Cache County Jail and later released on pretrial supervision after posting $40,000 bail.
The case had been delayed partially due to COVID-19 restrictions that limited in-person hearings. A four-day jury trial was canceled last November after the defendant accepted the plea deal.
During Monday’s hearing, defense attorney Edward Brass said the crime occurred because Hinckley was naive and inexperienced. He said his client was remorseful and took full responsibility for what he had done.
Hinckley declined to comment during the sentencing.
Judge Angela Fonnesbeck said if it wasn’t for Hinckley accepting a plea deal, she would have considered sentencing him to prison. She said the impact the defendant’s actions had on the victim will last forever.
Hinckley was ordered to immediately begin serving 364 days in jail and have no contact with the victim or her family. He will also be placed on the sex-offender registry for 10 years.
will@cvradio.com