Thomas Louis Deane has been adjudicated guilty and sentenced to 23 years in prison, followed by 7 years of Sex Offender Probation, for 19 counts of Possession of Child Pornography.
Assistant State Attorney Francine Donnorummo, State Attorney’s Office Special Victims Unit Chief, and Assistant State Attorney Alexa Lipham prosecuted the case.
Deane, a former teacher and assistant lacrosse coach, at a local private school, was arrested in May 2022, after a search warrant was executed at his Bonita Springs Apartment, as part of an investigation by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies seized multiple computers, a phone, and a hard drive from the residence.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office Digital Forensic Unit conducted a forensic examination and discovered multiple images and videos containing child sexual material on two devices that belonged to the defendant. He was then arrested.
The defendant bonded out and was fitted with a GPS monitoring device. On March 11, 2024, he was scheduled to appear in court but failed to show. He cut off his GPS monitoring device to evade capture. He was declared a fugitive and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
On April 10, 2024, Dean was located in Miami and taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force, in coordination with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, and Miami-Dade Police Department.
He was then transported back to the Lee County Jail and held without bond until today’s sentencing.
Samantha Syoen – Communications Director, State Attorney’s Office