This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Wasatch County man charged with sexually abusing his adoptive African children is financially able to hire his own attorney, a 4th District Court judge determined Wednesday.
Lon Harvey Kennard, Sr., 69, was told to hire an attorney by Nov. 17, when he is to appear again before Judge Derek Pullan.
The judge's determination of non-indigence comes some six weeks after Salt Lake City defense attorney Ron Yengich withdrew from the case, telling the court Kennard could no longer pay for an attorney "given the ongoing divorce."
According to docket entries in the divorce case, DeAnna Kennard filed a motion in May requesting a court order preventing any transfer or encumbering of any marital asset. Lon Kennard filed a motion in August asking to liquidate those assets for the purpose of paying attorney's fees. A hearing on the issue is set for Nov. 30 before Pullan.
DeAnna Kennard filed for divorce March 26, three days after Lon Kennard was charged with 47 felonies involving children the couple adopted in Ethiopia. The Kennards, who have six biological children, helped found the Village of Hope orphanage in the east African country and subsequently adopted six youngsters there.
Lon Kennard is charged with 25 first-degree felony counts of aggravated sex abuse of a child, 21 second-degree felony counts of sexual exploitation of a child, and one count of third-degree felony witness tampering.