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New details revealed about former Tallahassee youth pastor

Thomas
Thomas
Posted at 5:34 PM, Jul 18, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-01 08:58:10-04

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Shocking details are being revealed about a man who worked with local children.

The Leon County Sheriff's Office arrested 41-year-old Roshad Thomas on six counts of sex offense against a child.

Thomas is a former youth pastor at a Tallahassee church, who, until recently, was a contracted employee at Maclay School.

A school official tells WTXL Thomas is a former member of the Maclay School faculty. He taught Life Management in the Upper School during the 2016-2017 school year.

Although these allegations of abuse are just coming out, a victim who spoke with the Leon County Sheriff's Office said it happened about a decade ago. The victim told detectives they'd been fondled by Thomas when they were 13 years old.

However, as detectives investigated, they found four more victims. Deputies say each one described sexual encounters with Thomas that happened from 2007-2014.

According to the affidavit, five victims reported on numerous instances that Thomas invited the victims to his apartment. At the time, the victims' ages ranged from 13 to 16 years old.

According to the document, it was common that the victims would be invited back to Thomas's apartment to "hang out". Once there, the victims were fondled and touched inappropriately at Thomas's apartment.

One victim described Thomas as their mentor, telling investigators that they looked up to him and even "worshiped" him.  

When Thomas was interviewed he admitted to fondling all five victims above and below their clothing.

He told investigators that it was an attempt to connect intimately, but not sexually. 

After speaking to detectives on Monday, he was taken to jail.

According to his LinkedIn page, Thomas also served as a youth pastor at Calvary Chapel Tallahassee for more than 13 years.

Just a few days ago, Thomas made a public post on his Facebook page saying this was supposed to be his last week living in Tallahassee because he accepted a job as the Vice President of Student Programs for a nonprofit in Fort Lauderdale.

Thomas will make a court appearance Thursday in Leon County at 8:30 a.m.