Deputy Jemiah Thomas, 35, Arrested
BROWARD COUNTY, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2023) — Broward County Sheriff’s Office arrested one of their own for solicitation of a minor.
The Public Corruption Unit (PCU) of the Broward Sheriff’s Office has arrested a BSO deputy for several felony crimes, including solicitation of a minor.
According to investigators, Deputy Jemiah Thomas encountered an underage female while responding to a call in Pompano Beach back in September. During their interaction, Thomas shared his personal cellphone number with her and initiated communication. At one point, he even mentioned that he could be her “personal sheriff” who occasionally uses handcuffs. In mid October, a complaint was filed against Thomas with the BSO’s PCU, which led to an investigation conducted in collaboration with BSO’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
Over a period of nine days, Thomas engaged in text conversations with an undercover detective whom he believed to be the underage female. In these conversations, he expressed his desire to meet privately and engage in sexual acts. Additionally, Thomas is accused of sending explicit photos of himself to the child.
On Sunday, October 22nd, Thomas discussed renting a hotel room for their planned sexual encounter. The following day, Monday October 23rd, Thomas arrived at a hotel in Broward County and informed the female that he was already there waiting for her arrival.
The child, who was actually an undercover detective, decided not to go ahead with the planned meeting with Thomas.
On Tuesday morning, October 24th, detectives from BSO PCU apprehended Thomas for charges related to soliciting a minor, transmitting harmful material to minors, traveling with the intention of meeting a minor and attempting lewd and inappropriate communication with certain minors. Thomas was then taken into custody and booked at the Broward County Main Jail.
“The arrest of Deputy Jemiah Thomas on these charges is deeply disturbing. One of the most important obligations that law enforcement officers have is to protect our greatest resource, our kids. If these allegations are true, Deputy Thomas broke that trust,” Sheriff Gregory Tony said. “As soon as BSO learned of these allegations, we immediately began an investigation which resulted in Deputy Thomas’s arrest just days later. I have made a commitment to transparency and accountability in this organization, and this case shows, once again, that we will hold our employees accountable.”
Deputy Thomas joined BSO on May 15th, 2017. Following his arrest on Tuesday, he has been placed on unpaid administrative leave.
