PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. – A 31-year-old registered child predator from Pomona Park who was recently released from prison was arrested and charged with first-degree rape, according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
Kendrick Marclain was released from prison on Dec. 31, 2023, for sexually assaulting a child under 12. On Jan. 8, he registered as a sexual predator with the sheriff’s office and a notification was put out through social media a day later.
On Feb. 3, a victim told deputies she got into an argument and walked from a residence to Pomona Park. The victim said as she began walking when an unknown man followed her.
The victim called her mother at about 10:12 p.m. near Hill’s Hardware but the call was dropped. The victim said the man continued to follow her and asked her for a cigarette near a Dollar General.
The victim shared a cigarette with him and as she went to leave, the man grabbed her neck and hit her head on a wall, deputies said.
The victim told officials she was raped then the man tried to get her to go to his house.
The victim’s father drove to the area, and she told deputies that she was able to run away to his vehicle, and the man ran away.
Detectives viewed video surveillance and saw the man who matched the victim’s description.
The victim was taken to the hospital to be treated for her injuries and DNA was collected. The DNA was sent to a lab and it linked back to Marclain. Since he was a registered predator, deputies knew where to find him at his home and his job at the Simons Labor Camp.
News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney said the graphic details of the allegations are an example of why it’s best to be aware of your surroundings when in public especially during spring break.
“Be aware of where you are. Be aware of who’s around you. Be cautious coming from and going to your car. Try to keep your head up. Don’t bury your head in the phone and try to, as much as you can, avoid putting yourself in dangerous situations,” Hackney said.
Marclain was arrested and charged with first-degree rape and is being held without bond.
“This is a person who was given multiple opportunities to rehabilitate and he chooses not to,” Sheriff H.D. DeLoach said. “He fails to comply with his sexual predator designation and has returned to prison several times. Clearly this is someone who cannot function in society and now a member of our community has suffered an inexcusable, horrific trauma at his hands. There is no reason this person should ever be set free again to prey on others.”
Hackney said this is far from a typical rape case because the victim and Marclain didn’t know each other.
“To have a stranger-on-stranger sexual battery case is really the exception more than the rule because, in so many of these cases, the victim and suspect are somehow acquainted with each other. In this case, it’s not that,” Hackney said.
He recommended that women walk in well-lit areas, walk with someone if you can, and try not to cut through places and stay away from wooded areas.
Hackney also said taking a self-defense class will teach women how to get out of unavoidable dangerous situations. He also suggested carrying a self-defense weapon like pepper spray or a legal gun, if you’re properly trained on how to use it.