FORT MYERS, Fla. — A former Canterbury School teacher and lacrosse coach has pleaded guilty to more than two dozen possession of child pornography charges.
Thomas Deane had been originally facing 42 charges, including possession of child pornography, possession of obscene material involving child sex conduct and possession of 10 or more child pornography images. However, he accepted a plea deal on 14 counts of possession of child pornography.
Deane will go to prison for 23 years, minus 208 days for time served, for the 14 charges. For four other counts, he will be on sex offender probation for seven years when he's released.
This deal comes after he was expected in court in March for a plea hearing. Instead, the State Attorney's Office said he cut off his ankle monitor and fled to Miami.
US Marshals caught Deane in Miami a month later.
Back in December 2021, the Lee County Sheriff's Office says Deane had lewd contact with a minor over social media. The child's parent reported it in February 2022.
After Deane's arrest in April 2022, detectives say they discovered child pornography on four laptops, a phone and a hard drive a month later.
