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Deputy Accused Of Child Molestation Pleads Not Guilty, 117 Charges Dropped
April 21, 2010
Bond has been set at $465,000 for the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant that was first charged with over 120 counts of molesting two children.
Tuesday, the state dropped 117 sexual battery counts and three sexual battery by a custodial authority counts against John Mitchell Tomlinson, 46. He pleaded not guilty to the remaining charges against hime –three counts of capital sexual battery on a child less than 12 years old and three counts of sexual battery by a custodial authority.
The state dropped the vast majority of the charges to make Tomlinson’s trial proceed faster; a conviction on any one of the remaining sexual battery charges carries a life sentence.
Tomlinson was arrested by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on March 9 and charged with 120 counts of sexual battery on two girls between the ages of 12 and 18. One of the girls alleged abuse from when she was age nine to 18.
At the time of his arrest, Tomlinson was a Lieutenant with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office. He remains in the Walton County Jail, but will be transferred back to Santa Rosa County one week prior to his trial.
Comments
12 Responses to “Deputy Accused Of Child Molestation Pleads Not Guilty, 117 Charges Dropped”
This cop was a favorite at the flea mkt in Santa Rosa. He was always out there with his kids and wife. He worked there on weekends. I wouldve never in a million years thought he was capable of such thing. He did seem ready to bend little laws. He needs the death penalty. He has ruined their lives and his family.
Life sentence for this guy is nothing. When your abused in this way you carry with u a life sentence. For the rest of these girls life they will have many problems dealing with relationships. Abuse in this manner will change their furture relationships. As a person dealing with a child hood of this type of abuse i can say they have been given a life sentence!
We should not put him as the poster guy for all cops. Their are bad people in every job feild and i know a lot of cops that are good guys.
I agree that justice should be served. And if he is indeed innocent, I hope he gets a fair trial. But those charges will still follow him for the rest of his life. And as for the death sentence, the line for that is so long its essentially just life in prison as well. Which is ludicrous. If your going to charge someone with a death penalty, why wait years on top of years to follow through? Then they just die on their own time in prison anyway. But now I’m just rambling on about a totally different subject…
I think when we read or hear about things of this nature, most of us have a hair trigger that goes off. But just what if….he didn’t do it? Will he be able to get a fair trial now. Or just because the man is not so good looking, does it make him more guilty than if he had been a really nice looking man?
Some of you think that he would get life in prison, but I think according to the charges he could get death. Lets all hope that the whole truth comes out and justice is served.
AMEN A. Davis! and, Century Area Resident, I understand that it says it carries a life sentence, but I also know very well that life sentences don’t always last for life. Parol, “good behavior”, the fact that he was a deputy. Even if he is convicted, I bet he’s not there more than 15-20 years. and, you make a good point, if he even lasts that long! I hope he gets what he deserves one way or another. Rather its the court, or all the prisoners he sent there!
Yet another fine example of our local law enforcement trying to live above the law. This time they didn’t sweep it under the rug………yet!
Really if people think that somthing will happen to him in prison think again…. he will be in protective then if he gets out he will just be one more freak in prison for liking kids the other inmates may not like him but there are so many. maybe the best or worst how ever you look at it he will find him a boyfriend that likes to treat him bad. But then again maybe someone he was wrong to will remember him when they see him but I think killing him would be to easy maybe we should remember what the bible says and go by it do unto others!! maybe some of the inmates will think of that. when they do unto him what he did to children.
Erin, I think you are missing the point. The story says “a conviction on any one of the remaining sexual battery charges carries a life sentence.”
If they find him guility on any ONE of the three charges, he’s going to rot in prison for life. There’s no point in sentencing him to 120 life sentences.
Besides, how long will an ex cop convicted of child molestation last in prison anyway? A life sentence probably won’t that long.
They dropped the charges just to make the trial go faster? STOP BEING LAZY!!!! A child molester? REALLY!? You want to get this man out as soon as possible? Most would want him to spend the rest of his life BEHIND BARS!! What has our police system gone to? I thought they were here to serve and protect, not to slap child molesters on the wrist. Oh wait, their to busy dealing with the pot dealers to actually protect people from anything. Pots not going to molest you.
The saddest but truest fact is that you CANNOT REHABILITATE A SEX OFFENDER!! It has been described as much stronger than a heroin addiction and one that CANNOT BE CURED. The SEXUAL URGES of offenders CANNOT be supressed and will continue to their dying day! Therefore, once a sex offender is imprisoned, he or she should remain there for the rest of their lives, otherwise, our children will never be safe.
I have known this officer for many years. As for his looks, they are irrelevant on the case! I could never imagine him doing anything of this nature, but, will be the first one to say, if he did this, he deserves what is coming to him and more.
I was raped as a teenager and young adult. Twice by a distant family member. I do not attend family reunions because of him. Haven’t in 20 years. I didn’t tell my parents for 20 years, for the fear, of destroying my dad’s relationship with his sister.
In cases like this one, if they can prove this happened, they need to bring back the vigilante justice days, take him out of the courthouse and hang his carcus on the front steps for all to see! Instead, he will be put in solitary confinement so nothing can happen to him!
Just my opinion!
I am a grown woman and I cannot even imagine having to deal with anything sexual relating to this man, as just the site of him disgust me! I feel so bad for the young girls who’s lives have been turned upside down by this perverts “alleged” sex abuse and how it will effect thier lives and any future relationships from now on.
I have ZERO tolerance when it comes to men taking advantage of children (boys & girls) for their own personal sexual pleasure. What makes it even worse is when it’s from someone they trust or like this man, a Officer of the law.