Matthew Kennington (1970 – ) was a Mormon church member and high school teacher at Maeser Preparatory Academy in Lindon, Utah; was convicted of four counts of forcible sexual abuse in 2011; allegedly groomed and sexually abused one of his students; sentenced in 2011 to nine months in jail and three years of probation.
Matthew H Kennington case report »
Matt Kennington was a Mormon church member and high school teacher at Maeser Preparatory Academy in Lindon, Utah.
In 2011, Kennington was convicted of sex crimes in Utah.
According to court documents, Kennington was originally charged in 2010 with four counts of rape. The charging document was altered by hand to reflect changes to the charges from four counts of rape to four counts of forcible sexual abuse in the 2nd degree.
Kennington was charged/convicted with:
-FORCIBLE SEXUAL ABUSE – 1st Degree Felony (amended to) -2nd Degree Felony/ pleaded guilty
-FORCIBLE SEXUAL ABUSE – 1st Degree Felony (amended to) -2nd Degree Felony/ pleaded guilty
-FORCIBLE SEXUAL ABUSE – 1st Degree Felony (amended to) -2nd Degree Felony/ pleaded guilty
-FORCIBLE SEXUAL ABUSE – 1st Degree Felony (amended to) -2nd Degree Felony/ pleaded guilty
As of 2026, Kennington does not appear in the Utah sex offender registry. His case history in Utah’s online court document system does not mention sex offender registration; Floodlit’s research suggests that he was not required to register as a sex offender as part of his plea deal.
Scott W. Cameron, a former associate dean at Brigham Young University’s (BYU) J. Reuben Clark Law School, wrote a letter in support of Kennington to the judge. Cameron said of Kennington, “I have found him to be a man of principle and integrity.”
According to someone familiar with the case, Kennington was a teacher at Maeser Academy. They stated Kennington groomed a 16/17-year-old female student of his. They said that he was given warnings to stay away from a student, but continued to spend time alone with her. They also said he blamed his pornography addiction and depression for his reason to abuse his student.
Kennington was a Mormon missionary in Dallas, Texas from approximately 1990 to 1992.
If you have any information on Kennington’s LDS membership history, please contact FLOODLIT.
