Donned in a striped prison jumpsuit at the Purgatory Correctional Facility in Washington County, star BYU football player Parker Kingston made his initial appearance in 5th District Court remotely Friday afternoon after having been arrested and jailed on a felony rape charge earlier this week.
Deputy Washington County Attorney Ryan J. Shaum, representing the state, and defense attorney Cara Tangaro of Salt Lake City, representing Kingston, made an agreement beforehand to allow Kingston to be released on a $100,000 bond, with $10,000 in bail payable to the court upon his release.
Before Judge John Walton agreed to the terms and conditions for Kingston's release, he acknowledged that he "reviewed the probable cause statement. I found by clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Kingston was a danger to the community. I held him on a no-bail hold."
Shaum outlined the other conditions, most notably that Kingston, who turns 22 next month, must wear a GPS ankle monitor and cannot return to Washington County for any reason other than to make a court appearance.
"We would ask for no contact, obviously, with this alleged victim. That includes any third-party contact, no contact with any of her roommates or possible witnesses that are citizen witnesses," Shaum said.
Kingston cannot use any form of social media while the case is pending, and cannot "publicly disparage the alleged victim or any of the witnesses during the (length) of this case," Shaum said.
Tangaro agreed to all the terms and conditions in front of the judge and then asked for Kingston to "hopefully be released today" and noted that he planned to leave Washington County immediately upon his release.
The judge said Kingston must wear the ankle monitor for the next 60 days, at which time he will "consider other forms of electronic monitoring" beyond that.
The judge ordered both sides to not talk about the case, during its pendency, "to the media, specifically."
The judge told Kingston he will see him back in court on Feb. 25 via WebEx.
Another court review with both attorneys will be held on March 18, and the preliminary hearing is set for April 13.
According to court documents, Kingston has been charged with "Rape, a first-degree felony, in that defendant had sexual intercourse with another, without his/her consent, in violation of Section 76-5-402" of the Utah Code.
The alleged victim was 20 years old at the time of the alleged incident, Feb. 23, 2025. On Feb. 27, she "reported a sexual assault to police officers at St. George Regional Hospital" in southern Utah, according to the probable cause statement unsealed by a judge on Thursday.
That same probable cause statement notes that Kingston, in an interview with police, claimed "all sexual activity with A.M. was consensual."
Contacted Wednesday night after the Washington County Attorney's Office issued a press release regarding Kingston's arrest, BYU issued the following statement:
"BYU became aware today of the arrest of Parker Kingston. The university takes any allegation very seriously, and will cooperate with law enforcement. Due to federal and university privacy laws and practices for students, the university will not be able to provide additional comment."
Thursday night, the St. George Police Department denied a GRAMA request from the Deseret News for copies of the police reports, citing the ongoing prosecution and calling it a "protected record" until the case has been fully adjudicated.
