Lewd suspect sidesteps GPS requirement

SANDPOINT — A Spirit Lake man facing multiple counts of lewd and lascivious conduct appears to be on the run after dodging a requirement that he be fitted with a GPS-enabled ankle monitor while free on bond and awaiting trial.

First District Judge Barbara Buchanan ordered on July 1 that Kenneth Bernard Kimbley III wear the device if he was able to post a reduced bond of $10,000 court records show. Kimbley posted the bond, although district court staff later discovered that he was not wearing the tracking device when he was released from the Bonner County Jail, according to court documents. Moreover, Kimbley’s bonding agent was not made aware of the court-ordered GPS requirement, court records said.

A woman purporting to be Kimbley’s girlfriend asked a bailiff over the phone where Kimbley could obtain the device and was told Moon Security in Spokane.

Moon Security, however, advised that it was not monitoring Kimbley, court documents indicate.

A warrant for Kimbley’s arrest was issued on Aug. 6.

The charges against Kimbley, meanwhile, have come into sharper focus with the unsealing of a grand jury’s indictment.

Kimbley, 36, molested a girl who was 6-9 years old and a boy who was between the ages of 8-11 from 2011 to 2014, the indictment alleges.

The alleged misconduct took place at residences in Bonner and Kootenai counties, in addition to a storage unit in Kootenai County. In total, he faces nine counts of lewd conduct.

A pretrial conference in the case remains set for Oct. 25.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee