The Broward Sheriff’s Office Public Corruption Unit (PCU) arrested a BSO deputy on Tuesday morning on charges of solicitation of a minor and several other felony crimes. 

According to detectives, Deputy Jemiah Thomas met an underage female during a call for service in Pompano Beach in September. Thomas provided the female his personal cellphone number and began communicating with her, at one point, according to investigators, telling her that he could be her “personal sheriff that handcuff you from time to time.” In mid-October, a complaint was made to BSO’s PCU regarding Thomas, and PCU commenced an investigation with the assistance of BSO’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. 

Over the course of nine days, Thomas engaged in text conversations with an undercover detective who Thomas thought was the underage female. In those conversations, Thomas indicated his desire to meet with her privately and perform sex acts on her. Thomas is also accused of sending the child a photo of his private parts. 

On Sunday, Oct. 22, Thomas engaged the girl in conversation about renting a hotel room in which to engage in sexual activity. On Monday, Oct. 23, Thomas arrived at a Broward County hotel and advised the female that he was present and awaiting her arrival. The child, in actuality the undercover detective, cancelled the meeting with Thomas. 

On the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 24, BSO PCU detectives arrested Thomas on charges of solicitation of a minor, transmission of material harmful to minors, travelling to meet a minor and attempted lewd and lascivious written solicitation of certain minors. He was booked into 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 was hired by BSO on May 15, 2017. Following his arrest on Tuesday, he was placed on administrative leave without pay.