Thomas Louis Deane was a History/Social Studies teacher and lacrosse coach at Canterbury School, a private school in Ft. Myers, Florida. In February, 2022, a woman reported her son was the victim of a sex crime.
Police investigated and found evidence showing Deane had found the minor on Grindr and then communicating on SnapChat, arranged to meet the child in person. He was arrested in April, 2022, and charged with lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim under the age of 16 and a second charge of lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim between the ages of 12 and 16. A month later, he was rearrested, charged with 28 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material.
After getting the bail amount reduced, Deane was released on bail. He did not show up for a hearing and had removed his ankle monitor. He was captured after about a month on the lam.
The original charge of sex crimes against a minor were dropped and he pled guilty to 10 charges of possession of child sexual abuse material. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
- WINK: Former Canterbury School teacher arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior on minor
- Fort Myers News-Press: Ex-Canterbury teacher Thomas Deane arrested after nearly one month on lam
- U.S. Marshals Service: U.S. Marshals Arrest Child Pornography Fugitive
- WINK: Former Canterbury teacher sentenced to 23 years in prison for child porn
