Phone of man facing crimes against children charges pings in Miami after cutting off GPS ankle tracker

Reporter: Jolena Esperto
Published: Updated:
Thomas Deane mugshot in front of the Canterbury School. CREDIT: LCSO

How long will the man accused of disturbing crimes against children be able to hide from the law?

Thomas Deane, a former teacher at the Canterbury School, cut off his ankle monitor and is nowhere to be found. His attorney says he last pinged his phone in Miami, where the attorney believes his client freed himself of his ankle monitor.

Authorities didn’t find out his ankle monitor was cut off until Monday.

Police are looking for his fingerprints or if his passport was used. They’re going to track any money sent to him, making it difficult for him to hide forever.

Deane did not show up for court on Monday, and his bondsman said it was going to be expensive for him to stay away forever.

Deane’s mother collateralized, so his bondsman, Orin Opperman, is not at a loss.

“Usually, people are shaking, ‘What am I going to do?’ And they’re sweating bullets and they worry,” said Opperman, “and he was like, ‘No big deal,’ and he just shrugged it off, and I can tell I came home and told my wife that this guy’s not going to show up if he’s not taking this serious, and these are very serious charges.”

It remains unclear how Deane was able to cut the GPS monitor off and if he was outside the bounds he was limited to during the time he was last pinged in Miami.

His bondsman said from the few times he talked to him, it seemed like Deane would rather run away for now than face 28 counts of child porn.

This is an active case of a man on the run, so law enforcement will not release when or how he cut the ankle monitor off, just that his last ping was in Miami.

If you have any information on this man’s whereabouts, contact Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-8744. You can also submit tips online or on the P3 Tips mobile app. Remember, you can remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward.

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