A former teacher who is gay has been sentenced to 125 years to life in prison for molesting one boy in person and three boys he only met on the Internet while posing as a 13-year-old girl.
Consecutive terms were handed down July 24 to John Raymond Kinloch, 43, by Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Ana Espana who ordered him to pay $8,075 to the crime victim’s compensation fund.
He was given credit for 1,107 days spent in jail since his 2012 arrest, and fined $12,764. A jury convicted him June 3 of 33 counts of molestation that included 18 counts of molesting a former student. He was also convicted of possession of child pornography on his computer in his San Ysidro home, but acquitted of molesting a fifth boy.
The probation report said Kinloch was gay and that his first sexual experience was with the teenage victim in the case. The victim is now an adult and testified against him.
The victim’s mother said she met Kinloch at a parent/teacher conference and became friends. She said she was a single mother and Kinloch “became a dad figure for my son.”
“Looking at it now, it was a lie for his selfish needs and wants,” said the mother. “A devil was allowed in a candy store. I pray that justice will be served.”
Deputy District Attorney Harrison Kennedy said there was “a lack of remorse” and a violation of trust and manipulation to “naïve teens” online. He sought a 405-year sentence.
Kinloch last worked at Wolf Canyon Elementary School in Chula Vista as a first grade teacher before he was arrested Nov. 30, 2012. Before then, he worked at Feaster Charter School, which used to be called Feaster Elementary School, also in Chula Vista. The former Feaster student was a teenager when he was molested in 2004.
Kinloch posed as a girl online and had online chats with teenage boys. Kinloch persuaded three boys to pose naked on a webcam and perform a sex act, but they never met him.
His attorney, Kerry Armstrong, said his client will definitely appeal the verdicts involving the online activities because he never met them or touched them. Armstrong said the youths didn’t know they were victims until law enforcement told them they were chatting with an adult man.
“We’ll see what the 4th District Court of Appeals thinks. We didn’t think there were valid charges,” said Armstrong afterwards. “I don’t think it’s a child molest when you meet someone online.”
Armstrong asked for a sentence of 18 years and 10 months, saying his client admitted to molesting the former student to authorities. “Mr. Kinloch is very remorseful,” said his attorney.
Kennedy described Kinloch as “a pervasive predator of children” and said “justice was served” with the 125-year sentence. “John Kinloch will not be on the street anymore,” he added.
In a statement afterwards, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said “sexual predators who target our children are some of the worst criminals on the street.”
Kinloch was dressed in blue jail clothing and did not say anything at his sentencing. He also didn’t testify at his trial which began May 20.
Kinloch passed a background check before he was hired in 1999 by the school district. However, Kinloch’s name came up in a 1998 court case in England when he testified against an acquaintance accused of trafficking in child pornography on the Internet. Kinloch was granted immunity for his testimony and he was not a teacher at the time. Because he was a witness, his name did not surface in a background check.
