Tae Kwon Do Instructor Raped Little Girl, Deputies Say

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A 23-year-old St. Petersburg man accused of molesting two little girls faces more charges after a third victim came forward.

According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the new charges were levied against Andrew Jin Kim on Monday after the little girl’s mother saw a news story about the Tae Kwon Do instructor’s Friday arrest.

“According to detectives, sometime in late July or August 2015, Kim picked up the victim from school to transport her to Oh’s Tae Kwon Do for class,” an email from the sheriff’s office said. “Detectives say that while they were in the vehicle, Kim forced the 8-year-old victim to engage in a sex act with him.”

The capital sexual battery charge comes on top of two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation Kim faced after he was accused of inappropriately touching two girls, ages 6 and 7 at the time, while working as an instructor at the 7520 Seminole Blvd. business.

Oh’s Tae Kwon Do’s owners have cooperated with the investigation, the sheriff’s office noted. Kim worked as an instructor there from 2012 until August 2015 when he was fired “for being dishonest about work-related functions,” the email said.

The investigation into Andrew Jin Kim began on Jan. 27 when one of the girls told her mother he had touched her inappropriately. The subsequent investigation turned up evidence that Kim “touched both female victims in an inappropriate manner while the victims were undressed,” the sheriff’s office said.

The first two incidents are said to have occurred between 2014 and 2015 at Oh’s.

Kim reportedly told both girls to keep the incidents secret.

Detectives interviewed Kim on Friday and “he admitted to the allegations” related to the two molestation charges, the email said. It is unclear if Kim has admitted to the latest charge.

Detectives say that Kim may have had contact with other children. Anyone with information in the case or with information about other potential victims is asked to call Detective M. Kolenda at 727-582-6200.

Booking photo courtesy of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office