BY DAN HILDEBRAN
The State Attorney’s Office dropped a battery charge against Bradford County Commissioner Kenny Thompson on Wednesday, June 26, six months after accusing the 63-year-old of groping an auto parts delivery person at his Lawtey automobile repair shop.
While investigating the allegation, an inspector for Florida’s Department of Law Enforcement reported that three women told investigators that Thompson touched them against their will in a sexually suggestive manner while they were delivering auto parts to his business.
However, only one filed a complaint with Lawtey police, which turned the investigation over to the sheriff’s office. Gordon Smith’s agency then handed the inquiry to FDLE, which has a special unit that investigates public officials.
According to the redacted FDLE report, it appears that most, if not all, of the claims against Thompson were made by employees of Advance Auto Parts.
FDLE said it contacted other Starke-area auto parts suppliers, including O’Reilly and NAPA. Of the 10 additional female delivery drivers contacted by the agency, none reported inappropriate physical contact with the commissioner.
“It should be noted,” added FDLE, “that several of the ladies contacted pursuant to the above subpoenas did state that though they were not touched against their will by Thompson, he constantly made them feel uncomfortable from the comments he made to them and looks he gave them.”
Before the State dropped the misdemeanor charge, Thompson’s lawyer, Bobi J. Frank, challenged the legitimacy of the allegations in the FDLE report.
“Not everything that is alleged turns out to be accurate and true,” she said, “and I think that’s exactly what you’re going to find in this case.”
In an email, Darry D. Lloyd, a spokesperson for State Attorney Brian Kramer’s office, said the victim no longer wanted the state to proceed with the prosecution.
