Avoca man gets 2 life terms for rape

Fred Kimball
Fred Kimball

BENTONVILLE -- An 83-year-old Avoca man was handed two life sentences for raping two girls.

Fred Kimball was found guilty Wednesday of two counts of rape. The jury later recommended he be sentenced to life imprisonment on both counts.

The jury deliberated for almost two hours before returning with the guilty verdicts. It took the panel 20 minutes to recommend life sentences.

He was accused of sexually abusing two women when they were children.

A 32-year-old woman testified Kimball touched her inappropriately. The abuse started when she was 7 years old and ended when she was 13, she said. She said Kimball told her not to tell anyone about the abuse because no one would believe her.

The woman said she posted on Facebook about the abuse as a result of the MeToo movement, a social movement against sexual abuse and sexual harassment.

A 28-year-old woman testified Kimball had raped her. She said the abuse started when she was 5 years old and ended when she was 9.

She told jurors she remembers sleeping on the couch and waking up with Kimball molesting her. She said she spoke up about the abuse after seeing the other woman's Facebook post about Kimball.

Tim McDonald, deputy prosecutor, asked her how many times Kimball sexually abused her.

"A lot," she said. "Too many to remember."

A third woman testified Kimball had raped her when she was a child. She was interviewed about the abuse when she was 13 years old and testified her father told her to lie about the incident.

Her case had been investigated by authorities but the statute of limitations had passed and Kimball could not be charged in the case, McDonald said.

Lauren Aldridge, another deputy prosecutor, asked the woman if she lied because she was scared.

"Yes, that's my biggest regret," she responded.

Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green followed the jury's recommendation and ordered Kimball to serve the two life sentences in prison. Green ordered Kimball not to have any contact with the victims.

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