By Phil Helsel—
NBC News
A California man who tried to blame his twin brother for the rapes of a 9-year-old girl and a jogger was sentenced this week to 140 years to life in prison for attacks that occurred decades ago, the California District Attorney's Office said. Orange County.
Genealogy techniques led investigators to Kevin Konther, the man who
was convicted and sentenced
, and his twin brother in 2019 in connection with sexual assaults that occurred in 1995 and 1998, the district attorney's office said in a statement.
"The identical twins share the same DNA, but covertly recorded conversations between the two brothers following their arrests revealed multiple incriminating statements made by Kevin Konther, including admissions that he carried out the crimes," the office said in February, when he was convicted.
The twin brother has not been charged
.
The district attorney's office said that in recorded conversations, the man expressed shock over the allegations against his brother.
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A judge on Monday sentenced Konther, 58, to a sentence of 140 years to life in prison, the maximum allowed, according to prosecutors.
A jury convicted Konther in February of two counts of forceful rape and other charges, one of which concerned the sexual abuse of a third victim, the 12-year-old daughter of an ex-girlfriend, according to the prosecutor's office.
Konther raped a 9-year-old girl at knifepoint in 1995 while the victim was walking home in Lake Forest, an Orange County city southeast of Irvine, according to prosecutors.
In 1998, he jumped out of bushes and
attacked and raped a 32-year-old woman
while she was exercising in Mission Viejo, according to authorities.
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The attorney representing Konther did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon.