Santa Ana Police Department Advisory: January 9, 2013
County DA Office: PODIATRIST TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR POSSESSING OVER 1,000 CHILD PORNOGRAPHY IMAGES ON OFFICE COMPUTER, Case # 12CF3546
SANTA ANA – A podiatrist is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow for possessing over 1,000 images of child pornography on his office computer. Pete Thomas, 58, Long Beach, is charged with one felony count of possession and control of child pornography. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of three years in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration. Thomas is out of custody on $50,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow, Jan. 10, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. in Department C-55, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
On Oct. 15, 2012, Thomas was a podiatrist at Coastline Podiatry in Santa Ana. The defendant is accused of having a representative from an imaging company, setup and install a scanner on an office computer. The representative noticed thumbnail images of young girls who were nude and in sexual positions. The representative completed the installation, told his supervisor about the images, and reported it to the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD).
On Oct. 30, 2012, SAPD and the Orange County Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory investigated the files on the computer. The defendant is accused of possessing approximately 1,100 images of girls ranging from 7 to 12 years old in stages of undress and showing their breasts or vagina, including approximately 100 images of young girls involved in sex acts with grown men. On Dec. 11, 2012, SAPD arrested Thomas.
If convicted, Thomas’ lifetime sex offender registration would bar him from entering County recreational areas and City parks which have passed the Sex Offender Ordinance. Visit www.orangecountyda.com to read the prior press releases on the County’s Sex Offender Ordinance as well as the 14 other cities that have enacted the Child Safety Zone Ordinance.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with additional information or who believes they have been a victim is encouraged to contact SAPD Detective Mike Judson at (714) 245-8378 or Supervising District Attorney Investigator Anthony Sosnowski at (714) 347-8794.
Deputy District Attorney Whitney Bokosky of the Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting this case.
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