Sexual offender, twice accused of sexual assault on a minor, is on the lam in Fort Myers

A registered sex offender from Fort Myers is on the run after skipping out on a court date.

Tyree Kyndall Hutchins, 33, is accused of sexually molesting an underage co-worker in August of last year. Hutchins was scheduled for a court hearing on Feb. 17 but did not appear, so a bench warrant was issued.

The victim’s mother said Hutchins was supposed to take a plea deal at the hearing he skipped. WINK News is not identifying the mother in order to protect the victim’s identity.

Details on the plea deal are not available.

The mother of the victim said her daughter is scared. She has nightmares and cries often, she said. It’s gotten worse since he failed to show up for the hearing.

“We don’t know where he is,” she said. “We don’t know what he’s capable of and we don’t know how desperate he is.”

Her daughter was 16 years old at the time of the assault, her mother said.

An arrest report states Hutchins admitted to being with the victim but denied he sexually assaulted her. The incident took place at a restaurant on Pine Island Road. An underage employee was walking in the parking lot when Hutchins told her to wait for him.

Hutchins told deputies he wanted to accompany the girl for her safety.

The sexual assault occurred while the victim was on the phone with her mother.

“She was very short with me,” the mother said. “Like, I knew something was up but I didn’t know what and she rushed me off the phone.”

The arrest report states Hutchins said he was with her, but did not sexually assault her, even telling deputies to take his DNA because it would exonerate him.

However, Hutchins did admit to sending sexually explicit messages to his co-worker.

The victim told co-workers she was shocked by what was happening with Hutchins and was too scared to tell him to stop.

Hutchins was arrested on Aug. 25, 2020, and remained in jail before bonding out. His bail was set to $30,000.

“I have a lot of anger,” the victim’s mother said. “I have a lot of anger at the court system. I have a lot of anger that he’s out there. I have a lot of anger for what my daughter’s been going through since this happened.”

“I have a lot of hatred,” she said.

This is not the first time Hutchins is accused of sexual contact with a minor. In 2008, he was designated a sexual offender after he was found guilty of lewd or lascivious conduct on a victim under 16 years old, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement database on sexual offenders.

In 2007, Hutchins was arrested after he met two minors at Edison Mall. Later in the day, Hutchins took the two girls to a home in Lehigh Acres where they drank alcohol.

One of the children, a 15-year-old girl, told authorities that on the way to a second location in Lehigh Acres, Hutchins stopped the car and demanded sexual favors from the girl.

The girl told police she was forced into the acts.

Hutchins, who was 20 years old at the time, admitted to the sexual contact, stating that the girl consented. He spent 54 months in prison during that time, records show.

The age of consent in Florida is 18.

“He’s dangerous,” the victim’s mother said. “I don’t want this to happen to any other child. Had the courts done something the first time instead of a slap on the wrist with probation maybe it wouldn’t have happened to my daughter?”

The victim’s mother said she came forward because she needs the public’s help.

“Someone out there knows him,” she said. “Someone knows where he’s at. They have information. I’m begging the public to please come forward … I’m begging please before someone else gets hurt.”

Prior to skipping out on his Feb. 17 court date, Hutchins cut off his monitor, according to SWFL Crime Stoppers Coordinator Trish Routte.

“This guy is bad news, for sure,” Routte said. “This is the second time he’s accused of sexually assaulting a minor.”

Authorities, including the U.S. Marshals, are searching for Hutchins now, Route added.

“They don’t give up till they get their guy,” she said.

For the victim’s family, it’s as if they’re being victimized all over again, her mother said.

“She was getting a little stronger, feeling a little safer but now that’s gone,” her mother said. “Everything that she’s worked since August to get better is gone.”

They were looking forward to seeing Hutchins in handcuffs.

“We would’ve made victim impact statements and he would’ve been gone,” she said. “And he knew it. That’s why he ran.”

“I thought it was going to be over. It’ll never be fully over but at least he would’ve been put away,” she added.