Former Indian River County deputy sentenced for child porn

Stephen Guy Thomas, Jr., 26, formerly a deputy for the Indian River County Sheriff's Office, was sentenced Monday to almost 18 years in prison, followed by a lifetime term of supervised release, which includes the requirement to register as a sex offender after he pled guilty to receiving child pornography.

According to pleadings and in-court statements, the Indian River County Sheriff's Office started an Internet investigation and executed a search warrant at Thomas’ house in Vero Beach. At the time, Thomas was employed as a deputy by the IRCSO.  His house was located on the grounds of the Rosewood Magnet Elementary School and an external hard drive was found in a lockbox found inside a safe in Thomas’ bedroom.

Also, an HP laptop was found inside of Thomas’ patrol car. A forensic analysis of the hard drive and Thomas’ HP computer revealed over 100 video clips and over 50 pictures showing children under the age of 18 engaged in sexually explicit conduct, along with thousands of images of child erotica.