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Anything with a mouth can bite.
The primary reasons a Corn snake will bite are, 1). It's hungry, or 2). It's trying to defend itself. There is no way to tell why your snake bit your son, but it probably comes down to one of those reasons.
The fact that the previous owners did not handle much could play a part. The snake may just be scared of you. They have to get to know you. Was your son playing with the cat before he handled the snake? You have to remember, snake's have a really good sense of taste and smell, and if you look like a human, but smell like a rodent, a dog, a cat, a hawk (or whatever), you may end up getting bit.
They rattle their tails (as all snakes do) to show fear, or anxiety.
If they are about to shed, they may not feel well and some snakes can be a bit "Bitey" during this process, (but this is considered also as part of reason #2 above.)
A lot of folks feed their snakes in the enclosures with no ill effects. Some folks have reported problems. I personally do not feed in the enclosure. I take my snake out and place him in a feeding bin. "He Knows" what that feeding bin is. When I place him in there his whole attitude changes and he starts looking for food. He knows he's about to eat. And so, if that's the case, and your previous owners only put their hands into the cage to feed him, then won't he associate your hands in his cage as food? (He might). Snakes are not stupid and are capable of learning and remembering things.
One more thing to consider is proper temps, as a snake can be uncomfortable and become "Bitey" in uncomfortable situations. There should be a minimum of 2 hides in his enclosure, 1 on the warm side and 1 on the cool. The cool side temp is ok to be room temperature so long as it does not drop below 70. (74 would be better). The warm side should be 82 to 86 (I keep mine at 85) and that temp should be the actual temp "inside of the Hide."
And lastly, Corn snakes don't have fangs. Those marks you see may be teeth marks, but I have no idea why a corn snake would be chewing on its hide box. I'm curious, what is the Hide made of?
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