Man sentenced after plea to attempted sexual assault near downtown

A judge ordered a six- to 20-year prison sentence Wednesday for a man who was accused of pistol whipping and sexually assaulting a woman near downtown Las Vegas before pleading to lesser charges.

Authorities said Justin King, 37, committed the crime in May 2023 while driving a Toyota Tacoma owned by his father-in-law, Kendall Cummings, who worked for the Clark County district attorney’s office.

The victim told police he had offered her a ride when she was walking through a parking lot on Fremont Street.

“I was kidnapped, raped everywhere imaginable, threatened and I thought I was going to die until he dropped me off at the side of the road, laughing about what had just transpired,” she told the court.

Her life has changed forever since that day, she said. She has suffered anxiety, depression and nightmares, she said, and she has faced homelessness and financial problems.

King asked the judge for probation and said that he was a model citizen before his arrest.

“All of this stems from one single day where I made a terrible decision that led to this terrible outcome,” King said. “Your honor, one day does not make a man.”

But District Judge Ronald Israel didn’t think probation was appropriate. He called King’s actions “horrific.” When King is released from prison, he said, he will have to register as a sex offender.

King was indicted last July on multiple counts of sexual assault with use of a deadly weapon, as well as counts of first-degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon and open and gross lewdness.

This March, he pleaded guilty to counts of attempted sexual assault and coercion. He entered what is known as an Alford plea, meaning he only admitted prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him. The plea deal specified that prosecutors would not argue for a prison sentence of more than eight to 26 years.

Chief Deputy Attorney General Alissa Engler said the victim never wavered in her account of what happened. King has suggested the victim consented to sex with a gun pointed to her head, but that’s not plausible and it’s not clear that he’s accepted responsibility, she said.

Philip Singer, King’s attorney, requested his client get probation or a two- to five-year prison term and made comments that led to a courtroom dispute when he raised the victim’s criminal history.

He stressed his client’s strong family support and lack of prior criminal history. And he said King didn’t need to go to prison because of mitigating factors like that he used protection and dropped the victim off at her friend’s house.

He also described what occurred as “a prostitution situation” and said the victim has a history of prostitution.

Engler objected and said Singer was “victim blaming.”

“I’ll allow it,” Israel said.

Singer said he wasn’t blaming the victim. “I’m telling you, he did what he’s accused of doing,” he told the court. “He’s contrite. She was sexually assaulted by him with a gun. No getting around that. I just don’t want you to take her as other than what she is, as someone who wanders around Tropicana and she gets picked up for little crimes.”

King’s wife filed for divorce in the wake of the allegations, but wrote in a letter filed in the case before sentencing that he “has always been incredibly respectful of individual autonomy.” She said she believes in his innocence.

The victim said after court that she was “happy to see justice being served.”

“It’s harsh, but you can’t say it’s not fair,” Singer said of the sentence.

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.