TAMPA - Convicted child molester Kevin Kinder, inadvertently
placed in a jail holding area with a man he abused more than a
decade ago, was beaten unconscious Thursday when the man recognized
him and exacted revenge.
Kinder was in Tampa for a court hearing before returning to state
prison. He was put in a large room with about 65 other inmates at
the Orient Road Jail.
One of them was Jason Edward Flores, being held on a probation
violation. Flores, now 22, was 11 when Kinder abused him and three
other boys.
``It's such a fluke that these two ended up in the same place at
the same time,'' said Flores' mother, Judy Coronett. ``But think
about how [my son] feels. He was finally able to confront Kinder
and fight back after 11 years. I think it's damn
therapeutic.''
Flores' attorney, Ricky Escobar of Tampa, confirmed Thursday that
his client jumped on Kinder and punched him repeatedly, knocking
out a tooth and leaving Kinder unconscious.
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Debbie Carter said
Flores attacked Kinder as the two were awaiting transportation to
the Hillsborough County Courthouse for separate hearings.
Inmates' paperwork typically indicates whether they should be
separated, she said, but there were no red flags in either man's
file Thursday. Corrections officials will decide today whether to
file new charges against Flores or Kinder. Both men suffered minor
injuries.
The Tampa Tribune typically does not publish the names of sexual
assault victims. However, Flores has discussed the case in public,
including granting an interview to WFLA, News Channel 8.
In 1992, Kinder persuaded the young Flores and three other boys to
go with him to a secluded area. There, he threatened and molested
them, prosecutors said.
Coronett said her son led a troubled life after the episode and has
had many run-ins with the law. In the years after the assault, she
said, her son attempted suicide, lost his boyhood friend and felt
Kinder stole his soul.
``The fact that he recognized him after 11 years, and given all the
changes in that time, tells me that this is seared in his
consciousness,'' Coronett said. ``I'm sure he'll never forget that
face.''
Kinder, 31, was sentenced in July to 60 years in prison for
violating his probation. Authorities said he had pornography on his
computer, stole a car from his employer, and violated a restriction
to drive only to and from work.
Kinder had been released on parole after spending six years in
prison for the molestations. He was moved to the Martin
Correctional Institution in Indiantown and was supposed to be in
court Thursday to address a technicality in his sentencing, Escobar
said.
Coronett has been public in her efforts to keep Kinder
incarcerated. When he was released on parole, she distributed
fliers about him to his neighbors, which Kinder said cost him a
rental unit and several job offers.
Authorities at one point moved him to Port St. Lucie, on Florida's
east coast, where Kinder worked for a rental car agency. But he was
later arrested for violating parole.
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wat goes around comes around????
karma????
