Alleged Child Rapist Prof Kenneth Kyle Misses Arraignment -- For Good Reason

Kenneth Kyle

​Cal State East Bay Professor Kenneth Kyle, facing a pair of child porn-related  charges, skipped his scheduled arraignment yesterday morning. A no-bail bench warrant was issued for his arrest -- but that's probably the least of his worries.

On Wednesday, St. Louis County (Missouri) prosecutors filed a bevy of charges against Kyle -- one count of statutory rape in the first degree, one count of statutory sodomy in the first degree, and one count of promoting child pornography in the first degree. It is alleged that Kyle contacted 20-year-old Tessa Vanvlerah via the internet and arranged for trysts with her 13-month old daughter. Vanvlerah is facing the same charges as Kyle; her baby has been placed into protective custody by the state of Missouri.

After his initial arrest March 15 at San Francisco International Airport, Kyle posted $55,000 bail. Following the Missouri charges, the San Franciscan was re-arrested here by federal authorities -- which explains his absence from yesterday's arraignment. He missed his Thursday San Francisco court appearance while being held in federal custody somewhere in California, according to San Francisco's District Attorney's office. Kyle has no more pending court dates in San Francisco's Superior Court -- and his cases may be taken out of local prosecutors' hands. 

St. Louis County P.D.

Tessa Vanvlerah

​"He has a no-bail warrant out of San Francisco for his arrest. And now he has a $2 million warrant on him out of St. Louis," says Brian Buckelew, an assistant district attorney and spokesman for the office. "But he is in the custody of the Feds, so our warrant and the St. Louis warrant will act as other 'holds' on him in the unlikely event he bails out of Fed custody."

It is now conceivable that Kyle will face both his rape and child porn cases in federal court, and Vanvlerah will be tried there, too.