Former BYU receiver Parker Kingston will no longer be required to wear a GPS ankle monitor as his felony rape case makes its way through Utah’s 5th District Court.
Kingston made a brief appearance in the St. George court Monday morning for a scheduled preliminary hearing, but attorneys on both sides of the case asked Judge Jay Winward to push back the hearing to April 2 because they need more time to work out issues regarding evidence and witnesses, according to KUTV, which was the pool news outlet for the hearing.
Kingston, who turned 22 last week, was arrested and jailed last month on a first-degree felony rape charge after a year-long investigation. The victim, a then-20-year-old female, reported a sexual assault to police officers at St. George Regional Hospital in February 2025, according to a news release from the Washington County Attorney’s Office.
After making his first appearance in court on Feb. 13, Kingston was released on a $100,000 bond, with $10,000 in bail payable to the court. As terms for his release from jail last month, Kingston was ordered to wear the ankle monitor and could not have contact with the alleged victim or any of her roommates or possible witnesses.
He also could not enter Washington County for reasons other than to make court appearances, and could not “disparage” the alleged victim or use any form of social media while the case is pending.
Later that day, BYU announced that Kingston was no longer a student at the school and no longer a member of the football team. A school spokesperson said BYU was not aware of the investigation and allegations until the junior was arrested in Provo on Feb. 11.
In a court filing last Thursday, Kingston’s attorney, Cara Tangaro, asked the judge to release Kingston from his ankle monitor and wrote in a memorandum that it was “simply absurd” for prosecutors to consider the Layton, Utah, resident a flight risk.
Monday, the judge and attorneys on both sides agreed to remove the ankle monitor, but the other conditions of Kingston’s release will continue to be upheld.
Originally scheduled for April 13, the preliminary hearing was moved up to Monday at the request of Kingston’s Salt Lake City-based attorney during a brief video conference on Feb. 25. Kingston appeared in that video conference, but did not speak.
In the memorandum Thursday arguing for Kingston’s ankle monitor to be removed, Tangaro notes that the account of the alleged rape victim — identified in court documents as “A.M.” — appears to mirror news reports from the now-dismissed sexual assault civil case filed against former BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff.
Tangaro alleges that less than four hours after news articles were published online in the Retzlaff case, “A.M. decided she wanted to pursue charges against Kingston.”
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