A Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy was arrested by his fellow deputies Tuesday, accused of trying to solicit a minor.
Jemiah Thomas, 35, is now charged with using a computer to seduce or solicit a child, transmitting harmful information to minors, traveling to meet a child after using a computer to lure them, and attempted lewd or lascivious written solicitations of a minor who is 16 or 17 years old.
Thomas, who has worked for the Sheriff’s Office for about six years, is now on administrative leave without pay, Sheriff Gregory Tony told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
Tony said Thomas responded to a domestic violence call at a home in September and met a 17-year-old girl at the home. At some point, the deputy and the girl exchanged phone numbers and their conversations became sexual.
Thomas sent the girl a naked photo of himself while he was on duty, Tony said.
Tony said the girl’s father made a complaint to the Sheriff’s Office. And then they began their own investigation.
“The International Union of Police Associations (I.U.P.A.) Local 6020 is aware of the arrest of Jemiah Thomas,” BSO Union President Matt Cowart said in a statement. We are only privy to the charges brought against him and not the details of the investigation. The alleged charges, if true, are extremely concerning and unacceptable. The facts of the investigation will come out in court where ultimately a jury of Thomas’s peers will review the evidence and make a determination of guilt or innocence. Thomas, like every citizen of the United States, is innocent until proven guilty and shall be awarded his due process through the courts.”
Thomas was booked into Broward Main Jail, pending bond.
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