Christopher Thornton, a 27-year-old coach and child tutor who lived in Lauderhill, has been arrested in a Fort Lauderdale police sting and charged with child sex crimes.
According to the department's news release, investigators tracked Thornton's IP address to downloaded child pornography. That was enough to get a search warrant for Thornton's home in Lauderhill. From the release:
The warrant yielded one computer with over 80 movies and images depicting children between the ages of 4 and 12 engaged in sexual activity. Additionally, obscene images of two unreported child victims were located upon the computer.
One of those two child victims lives in Delray Beach, according to police. The other lives in New York. Investigators say that Thornton abused the children for at least three years and that he distributed nude photos of them on the internet.
Police spokesman Sgt. Frank Sousa told me that Thornton coached intramural football at Lynn University in Boca Raton but that he gained access to children in his capacity as a private tutor. Sousa did not have any additional information on Thornton's job as a tutor.
Back to the release:
Investigators and members of the ICAC Task Force fear that there may be additional victims. If anyone recognizes Thornton and may have been victimized by him, they are encouraged to contact Detective Rob Mauro at 954-828-6871 or Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.
