Oregon community raises money for man who punched pastor convicted of sex offense

Three-and-a-half years’ worth of emotions stirred in Kevin Patrick Smith.

The 45-year-old said he was sitting in the Medford, Oregon, federal courthouse on Wednesday for the sentencing hearing for Donald Courtney Biggs, 40, when he rushed Biggs and punched him.

Smith said two of his relatives were victims and his family had been members of the church where Biggs served for 10 years.

The hearing Wednesday proved to be emotionally charged, Smith said, as victims and their family members packed the courtroom. Victims’ statements were read for two hours, then it was the defense’s turn.  Biggs’ attorney Terry Kolkey said he submitted 26 sealed statements to the judge supporting Biggs’ character. The statements, Kolkey said, came from law enforcement officers, CEOs and other pastors who knew Biggs for being a “remarkably kind, giving human being.”

“They knew all of his crimes and stood with him,” Kolkey said. He also added that during the three years Biggs was in jail, he called his kids every day and even wrote letters that Kolkey said amassed to about 2,000 pages. He also showed this to the judge.

Kolkey’s presentation did not sit well with Smith.

“At that point, I just kind of snapped,” Smith told CNN on Sunday. “I charged across the courtroom. He was sitting behind a desk. I leaped over the desk and got a punch in on his face.”

I have a real problem with what Smith did.

Charging across a room and punching a pedophile in the face is a good way to break your hand.  Unless you know how to properly throw a punch, you are likely to do more damage to yourself than the person you are hitting.

If you find yourself in a position where you have to hit a pedophile in the face, my recommendation is that you use a crowbar or sledge hammer.  Something designed to withstand high force impacts on hard material like drywall, concrete, and skull.

Your hands, and your community, will thank you.