Former councilor for Bamberg County Kerry “Trent” Kinard – who has already faced seven child sex charges and two federal gun charges – was recently charged with three additional child sex charges in Jasper County.
Kinard, 49, of Bamberg, SC, was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct, illegal dissemination of obscene material to a child and committing an obscene act with a child, according to court documents filed on Wednesday.
Kinard is currently in federal custody after being arrested in December for allegedly lying while trying to buy a firearm in Columbia, South Carolina.
This week, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) filed court documents to transfer Kinard to state custody so that he can be prosecuted for the additional charges on January 29.
The three additional charges of child sex stem from alleged crimes while he lived in Ridgeland, South Carolina, between 1993 and 1998.
He is accused of having sex with a child under the age of 14 in 1998, exhibiting child pornography in 1995 and “repeatedly grabbing, groping and stroking” a child under the age of 16 in 1993, according to arrest warrants.
These charges were filed in December.
Original Child sexual crime charges
On September 25, 2020, Kinard was charged with first-degree assault and beatings, first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, attempted criminal sexual conduct with a minor, criminal solicitation of a minor (two charges) and dissemination of obscene material ( two counts).
In September, a judge initially denied Kinard’s bail and said he posed an “irrational danger to the community”.
In late October, a judge defined KinardThe $ 75,000 bail on the condition that he be banned from Bamberg County for 90 days, wear an ankle monitor and have no contact with his alleged victims.
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On October 27, a family court judge “filed a protection order preventing Kinard from threatening or using physical force against the petitioner”, after the judge found that Kinard “used or threatened to use physical force that could cause bodily harm. ”.
Kinard bailed out and was released from prison on 28 October.
In November, he was indicted on all charges, except for first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. In addition, he was indicted on a charge of obscene act on a child.
The probable cause statements accompanying the charges against Kinard detail child sexual crimes since 2008 – as well as crimes that allegedly occurred in September.
In the statement, the police accused Kinard of:
- display and present pornography to a young male between 2008-2019, several times a year
- talking to a young male for sexual purposes between 2017-2018
- showing and presenting pornography to a young woman while at her residence in September 2020
- attempted vaginal intercourse with a girl who was between 14 and 16 years old between the years 2016 and 2017
- talking to a young woman for the purpose of sex in September 2020
- touching the private parts of a young woman in September 2020
All of the above crimes allegedly occurred in Bamberg County.
Who is Kinard?
Kinard is a former police officer from the SC Highway Patrol (SCHP) who was first elected in 2012.
After his accusation, the governor of South Carolina Henry McMaster suspended Kinard from his duties as a county councilor.
He lost his run for re-election in the 2020 Democratic primaries to challenger Phil Myers, however, and is no longer an alderman.
According to a prize nomination, Kinard was very active in the Bamberg community. He was the president of a primary school PTO, coach of youth football and basketball and worked at the University of South Carolina as director of sports information.
Kinard, who faces 10 state and two federal charges, is currently behind bars in Manning, South Carolina.
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