The father of a girl who was burned in a house fire is speaking out against the sentence for the man convicted with attempted murder related to the blaze.
Jose Rueda, Isabel’s father, said in a statement “the justice system failed my daughter in the most outrageous and pitiful of ways.”
Kenneth Kormendy, 45, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for attempted murder and arson for setting fire to a bedroom where Isabel and her mother Sheri were sleeping. Following time in jail he has already served, he has a remaining seven years and 345 days to serve in prison.
The fire in October 2015 sent then 7-year-old Isabel Rueda to hospital with critical burns to her hands, feet, torso and face covering 15 per cent of her body.
“Isabel's life sentence began two years ago as her house and sense of normalcy all burned down, whereas Mr. Kormendy will only have to serve a laughable portion of his 11 year stint before being eligible for release, his face unknown to the public , the shame and seriousness of his crimes buried under society's fleeting memory,” said Jose Rueda.
Rueda tells CTV Windsor he is “deeply dismayed and disappointed” by the decision.
“A young child was savagely hurt,” he says. “The 11 year term, reduced by time served sends a dangerous message to the community, that doing damage to those most vulnerable will not carry a meaningful punishment.”
Rueda says he will seek remedy for the damages incurred by my daughter through the civil courts.
He also says “it is of most importance that people remember what his name is and what he did, lest a similar fate befall another young person at his hands again.”
Kormendy maintains his innocence and plans to appeal the conviction and sentence.
Depending on his appeal, he will be eligible for parole after serving a third of his sentence.
