The jury trial for Kendall Stephens, a trans woman and a formerly prominent LGBTQ+ advocate in Philadelphia, originally set to begin on Jan. 14, has been postponed due to a defense request. A new trial date hasn’t been announced, according to court records.
Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony Kyriakakis will preside over the trial in courtroom 1008 of the Criminal Justice Center, when it takes place, according to court records.
Between February 2018 and August 2019, Stephens allegedly had oral sex with a nine-year-old boy, Z.B., and had inappropriate communication and interactions with a 14-year-old boy, S.B.
Specifically, Stephens allegedly had oral sex (or tried to have oral sex) with the younger boy three times. Regarding the older boy, Stephens allegedly talked about sex acts at her house and rubbed his thigh on her couch. Also, the older boy allegedly saw a picture of Stephens’ genitalia, and overheard conversations concerning sexually explicit material.
According to prosecution papers, Stephens was a trusted figure in the boys’ lives. Some of the abuse allegedly occurred in Stephens’ residence. Other abuse allegedly occurred in the boys’ residence.
Stephens occasionally had unsupervised access to the boys as a close family friend.
“There is no evidence that a motive to fabricate these [allegations] exists,” according to a prosecution pleading.
Stephens, 38, is facing a variety of felony and misdemeanor charges, including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful sexual contact with a minor, disseminating sexually explicit materials to a minor, endangering the welfare of a child, corruption of minors, and indecent assault.
If convicted of all the charges, Stephens could face a lifetime in prison. She’s currently free on bail.
Stephens maintains her innocence. In defense papers, her attorneys challenge the credibility of the boys’ stories. They also question the reliability of the boys’ grandmother, who provided much information to authorities about the alleged abuse.
Moreover, defense attorneys claim the allegations against Stephens were lodged more than a year after they were alleged to have occurred and there is no physical evidence against Stephens.
“Ms. Stephens still does not know which exact dates the incidents occurred on, nor does she know the circumstances of the events, as they are ever-changing depending on who the complainants are talking to,” according to a defense pleading.
The younger boy has been under a great deal of distress, according to prosecution papers. If he testifies, prosecutors have requested that it be done via closed-circuit TV rather than having to face Stephens in court.
“The potential for emotional distress in this case is apparent as it calls for this witness who is already suffering from mental health issues to come into a courtroom and testify in front of this trusted family friend [Stephens] — as the perpetrator of repeated sexual assaults committed against him,” a prosecution pleading states.
It’s also possible there will be two trials — one trial for each boy — though the prosecution opposes that request as it would cause undue strain on the alleged victims , among other concerns.
Stephens served on District Attorney Larry Krasner’s LGBTQ Advisory Committee prior to her arrest. She was also an outspoken proponent of adding the LGBTQ+ protections to the state’s hate-crimes statute.
Neither side had a comment for this story.