Thomas’ version of the criminal complaint, particularly where two elementary-age girls would find, retrieve, and bring home graphic pornography magazines they just happened to find sounds more like something curious boys might do. It sounds like a magic lie. As an investigator, the presence of graphic pornography is a red-flag in dealing with male child-molesters. As a field sergeant on graveyard shift, my officers found registered sex offenders driving around with pornography loaded on laptop computers, as well as stacks of very provocative porno magazines. Female child molesters are a rarity, but they do exist and seem more invested in relationships with their victims.

I have been in court and spent countless hours listening to attorneys and judges instructing and counseling defendants on what their rights are and what is in their respective best interests. That Thomas received only a two-year stint in prison for the alleged eight counts of molesting a child under 14, reflects intelligence on his part, in spite of the fact that he never learned to read. It sounds like he understands mathematics quite well.

Your article is an excellent reminder about making willful choices and the horrible consequences they bear. Clearly, prison scared Thomas. But his failure to follow the law as a convicted sex offender at least hints of something more in line with what registered sex offenders frequently do—move to where the law and community do not know them and fail to register with the local authorities. Avoiding the law and not breaking it are two entirely different attitudes, are they not?

Is Thomas really broken or is he just bent by the choices he made? It is difficult to tell. God only knows.

I have experience in working with victims of sexual abuse/assault (and am myself a survivor of it) and by far the most disgusting, horrific and destructive type is when a parent abuses a child. But as much as I hate what child molesters/pedophiles do, I also understand that many of them were also victims as children. Its a perpetual pattern that is so ugly.

After reading your article and listening to the interview, I do wonder if Thomas could be telling the truth. I base that on several facts, the main one that he pleaded guilty. If he was guilty he most likely would have pleaded innocent unless they had a ton of evidence against him. The physical evidence is compelling but do they know for sure or did they see the results they wanted to see? If Thomas is a little slow – did he realize the full implication of pleading guilty to this crime? Sadly, sometimes children do accuse their parents of things out of anger without realizing how serious it is.

No one will ever know but him and his step-daughter. Either way, its very sad. I’m glad he has Bernard. Dogs never judge others.