NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Florida -- A former Florida
Department of Children and Families investigator was arrested Friday for
allegedly soliciting sexual favors from a New
Smyrna Beach
woman in exchange for using his own urine for her drug screening.
32-year-old Andrew
Thomas was taken into custody at his current home in Carlisle,
Pennsylvania on a warrant charging him with bribery by a public servant, official
misconduct, and falsifying records.
Thomas visited the
22-year-old victim the morning of May 8 at her home near New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The woman related to Volusia
County Sheriff’s investigators that Thomas told her he needed a urine
sample for a drug test so that he could then close her DCF case. The woman
complied.
The woman said that Thomas immediately tested the sample and claimed that it was positive
for drugs. This allegedly led to a conversation about how bad the test results would look
for the victim and Thomas lamented that his supervisor would likely want him to
notify the woman’s probation officer. During this talk, the woman claims that Thomas mentioned
that he wished he had taken the test for her, using his urine in order to give
her clean results.
Thomas allegedly explained to the
victim that he could lose his job for helping her, so she would need to do
something to prove he could trust her. The woman told investigators that Thomas
started pressuring her to have sex with him in exchange for a clean urine
sample.
At one point, the victim said she tried recording the conversation using her cell
phone, but Thomas noticed. He then allegedly ordered her to delete the recording and have sex
with him. The victim said she was finally able to appease Thomas by taking off all of
her clothes so he could look at her body, but they did not engage in any sex.
Thomas then provided a urine sample and had the victim sign paperwork attesting
to having passed the drug screening.
The victim later told her
boyfriend what had happened and the boyfriend called Thomas to confront him.
Thomas allegedly apologized, but explained that he had felt that he was backed into a
corner when the victim had failed the test. To help her he needed to have her
do something that would prove her trustworthiness. Thomas also stressed to the
boyfriend that he was in the process of closing all of the victim’s DCF
cases.
The victim notified
Thomas’ supervisors at DCF. They then informed Thomas that a complaint
about him had been filed but they didn’t provide any details to him about
it at that time. The next day Thomas moved out of his residence and submitted a
letter of resignation to DCF stating that he was moving to Pennsylvania to be near family. However, a
Volusia County Sheriff’s investigator contacted him in Pennsylvania and during an interview Thomas
confirmed what the victim had told deputies. He explained, “I was in a
dark place.”
Investigators obtained
the arrest warrant signed by circuit court judge Frank Marriott on Thursday. He
was booked into the Cumberland County Prison in Pennsylvania
where he will await extradition back to Volusia County, Florida.
The Volusia Sheriff's Department says that it is believed that
Thomas may have victimized others in a similar manner. Another woman has
already come forward to say that Thomas had been assigned to her DCF case and he
subsequently called and texted her late at night. She said that he complimented
how she looked, invited her to the beach and to go gambling, and asked her
about body massages and sex.
Anyone with information about additional such
encounters is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at (386) 423-3301 or
(386) 423-3888.
