Booking photo for William L. Kennedy (Courtesy: Cache County Jail)
LOGAN — A 65-year-old Wellsville man has been sentenced to jail for molesting a young girl earlier this year. William L. Kennedy was ordered to report to the Cache County Jail by Friday after telling the court he may never forgive himself for what he did.
Kennedy was sentenced during a virtual hearing in 1st District Court Monday morning, appearing by web conference. He previously pleaded guilty to three counts of sex abuse of a child, a second-degree felony.
Kennedy was arrested in May after the 9-year-old victim told her mother how she had been molested multiple times. The woman reported the crimes to Cache County sheriff’s deputies in April.
Investigators interviewed the girl. She described three separate occasions when Kennedy, a family acquaintance, had inappropriately touch her above and underneath her clothing.
Deputies later questioned Kennedy, who admitted to inadvertently touching the girl. He claimed to have unknowingly placed his hands on her and then realized he had done something he wasn’t supposed to.
During Monday’s sentencing, Kennedy said it had been a nightmare to think of what he did to the little girl. He explained how he had begun sex-offender treatment to try and fix the “loose screws” in his head.
Defense attorney Joseph Saxton said his client was very remorseful and sorry. He also described how the defendant had turned himself into law enforcement and been truthful during the investigation.
Cache County Deputy Attorney Griffin Hazard said whatever “screws were loose in Kennedy’s head,” he did significant damage. He noted though, how the victim’s family had requested the defendant be sentenced to jail instead of prison.
Judge Angela Fonnesbeck said Kennedy’s case was one of only a handful she had seen, where the defendant was truthful, in owning up to what he did. She said that still didn’t undermine the difficult situation the case was for the victim, the defendant and the court.
Kennedy was sentenced to serve 105-days in jail. He was also ordered to continue sex-offender treatment and mental health counseling, and have no contact with the victim.
will@cvradio.com