Port St. Lucie man gets 90 days' jail for binding woman's hand 

TC Palm

FORT PIERCE — A Port St. Lucie man accused in October 2008 of binding a woman’s hands and taping her mouth shut “so she would listen,” was sentenced Thursday to 90 days in the St. Lucie County Jail, a year of community control and a year of probation.

Kevin John Franco, 34, of the 2800 block of Southwest Rosetta Street, pleaded no contest in February to charges of felony false imprisonment, misdemeanor battery and tampering with a witness. In levying the sentence, Circuit Judge Dan Vaughn gave Franco credit for 31 days he’s already spent in jail.

According to an arrest affidavit, the woman said she was sleeping in her bed when she woke up to find Franco on top of her, binding her hands with heavy-duty plastic ties and putting duct tape on her mouth.

She said she got loose and saw Franco had ripped phones out the wall, but she used her cell phone to call for help, the affidavit states.

“Yes, I tied her hands and I taped her mouth closed,” the report states Franco told officers, “but only so she would listen.”