FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A South Florida deputy is accused of attempting to solicit a teenage girl he met on duty while responding to a call, authorities said Tuesday.
According to Broward County Sheriff’s Office online booking records, Jemiah Thomas, 35, was arrested on Tuesday. He was 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, online records show.
Thomas, who has worked for the sheriff’s office for about six years, is on administrative leave without pay, Sheriff Gregory Tony said, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
In a news release, the sheriff’s office said that Thomas met the girl in September while responding to a domestic violence call in Pompano Beach.
Deputies alleged that Thomas provided the 17-year-old girl, who has not been identified, with his personal cellphone number and began communicating with her.
According to investigators, Thomas allegedly told the female that he could be her “personal sheriff that handcuff you from time to time.”
Investigators said that over a nine-day period in October, Thomas had text conversations with an undercover agent, believing he was communicating with the teen.
During those conversations, Thomas allegedly said he wanted to meet privately with the female and perform sex acts on her, the release stated.
Deputies also alleged that Thomas sent the girl a naked photo of his private parts, the sheriff’s office said.
Tony said the girl’s father found out about her communication with Thomas and contacted the sheriff’s office, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
The Public Corruption Unit and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force launched investigations after receiving the complaint this month, the sheriff’s office said.
“This here is one of the most grotesque and deliberate attempts to really abuse a minor in our community,” Tony said, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
In a statement, Tony called the allegations “deeply disturbing.”
“One of the most important obligations that law enforcement officers have is to protect our greatest resource, our kids,” the sheriff said. “If these allegations are true, Deputy Thomas broke that trust.”
“The International Union of Police Associations (Local 6020 is aware of the arrest of Jemiah Thomas,” BSO Union President Matt Cowart said in a statement, according to the Sun-Sentinel. “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 remains in the Broward County Jail. Bail has not been set, online records show.