Drew Dixon
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office extradited a man who is accused of sexual battery on a child back to Florida after officials say he was a fugitive in North Carolina and Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner assisted in the situation.
Kermit Booth, who is facing the sexual battery charges, fled to North Carolina after the charges in Flagler. He was returned to Florida Friday after he was originally arrested Aug. 1. He was initially arrested in North Carolina on a Flagler County warrant for the two counts of sexual battery on a person less than 12 years of age.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly himself went to Franklin, North Carolina Friday to bring Booth back to Florida. He was being held in the Macon County Jail in Franklin awaiting extradition. Gov. Ron DeSantis granted Staly the extradition request for the sheriff to travel to North Carolina to retrieve the suspect.
“It took a few weeks, but we were finally able to get this pervert on a plane and bring him back to Flagler County. After the governor’s warrant was issued and he was rearrested and held this time, and after North Carolina courts said we could extradite him, we flew up and brought him back,” said Staly. “I hope he enjoyed his flight back to Florida because it’ll probably be the last flight he takes. Hopefully, he’ll be spending the rest of his life in prison.”
Staly tipped his cap to Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson for providing an airplane from the department so the sheriff could get to North Carolina as soon as possible to extradite Booth.
“I especially want to thank the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson for providing a forestry aircraft for Booth’s quick extradition back to Flagler County,” Staly said. “While our efforts cannot erase the deep emotional scars that this pervert caused, it is my hope that his victim may now begin the healing process knowing that justice is finally coming.”
Booth is being held in the Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility in Flagler County on a $500,000 bond.
