Ex-Canterbury teacher skips court; warrant issued for arrest
A former Canterbury teacher arrested in April 2022 for sexual acts with a child and rearrested the following month didn't appear for his expected plea hearing, prompting the court to issue a warrant for his arrest.
Thomas Deane, 32, of Bonita Springs, worked as a history teacher at the Canterbury School, a private college prep school in Fort Myers. Lee County sheriff's deputies arrested him on April 6 on charges of lewd and lascivious battery, accused of having oral sex with a 16-year-old boy.
Deane, whose home address is just across the street from a Bonita Springs elementary school, was charged with possession of more than 100 images of child pornography at the time of his latter arrest.
School paraprofessional arrested: School employee sent 4,000 texts, including nudes, to student, police say
According to his arrest affidavit, several of the videos found in Deane's possession included adults and teens sexually assaulting toddlers and small children.
Deane was booked into the Lee County Jail on May 10, 2022, on $420,000 bond. He was released Sept. 23, 2022, on $70,000 bond a judge approve a lesser bond.
Sara Miles, spokesperson for the 20th Judicial Circuit, confirmed Monday morning Steinbeck issued a bench warrant for Deane's arrest. The warrant indicates Deane will be held without bond.
Deane's attorney, Lawrence Meltzer, couldn't immediately be reached for comment Monday morning.
Charges dropped in first case involving teen victim
Before his child pornography arrest, Deane was charged April 6, 2022, with two counts of lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim between the ages of 12 and 16.
But since August 2023, Deane only faces the charges in the latter of his two arrests.
Assistant State Attorney Francine Donnorummo dropped the charged in the first case against Deane on Aug. 22, 2023. Court records don't specify why the charges were dropped.
The arrest affidavit said Deane connected with a teen on Grindr, a meet-up app for LGBTQ+ people, in December 2021. They then moved their conversations to Snapchat, a messaging and photo- or video-sending app where content automatically deletes itself after 24 hours.
In February 2022, the boy's mother reported to the FBI that her son was the victim of a sex crime in Bonita Springs. Lee County sheriff's detectives interviewed her son in March, who said Deane fondled him underneath his clothing and that they had oral sex.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Judge issues bench warrant for arrest of ex-teacher Thomas Deane
