LONDON, KY - A federal grand jury in London, Ky., returned a three-count indictment yesterday evening charging 37-year-old David Jason Jenkins and 20-year-old Anthony Ray Jenkins with kidnapping and assaulting Kevin Pennington in April of last year.
The indictment also charges the men with conspiracy. Both men will be arraigned in London at 2:00 this afternoon.According to the indictment, on April 4, 2011, the defendants enlisted the help of two women to lure Pennington into a truck with the defendants.
According to the indictment, Anthony and David Jenkins transported Pennington to a secluded area of the Kingdom Come State Park and assaulted him.Both defendants were indicted for committing a hate crime in violation of the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expanded federal jurisdiction to include certain assaults motivated by someone’s sexual orientation.
This case marks the first case in the nation charging a violation of the sexual orientation section of the federal hate crimes law. The Federal hate crimes law under which these defendants were charged, criminalizes certain acts of violence motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or gender.
This case was investigated by special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Kentucky State Police. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hydee Hawkins and Trial Attorney Angie Cha with the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice.The kidnapping and assault offenses carry maximum penalties of up to life in prison.
An indictment is only an accusation, and the defendants are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty.
