Man charged with failing to register as a sex offender

Palm Coast Observer
Crime

A 43-year-old convicted sex offender, Thomas Bradshaw, was arrested by Flagler County Sheriff's Office detectives Nov. 14 after failing to register his address and a social media account with law enforcement, according to a news release from the FCSO. He'd previously been convicted of failure to register as a sex offender in 2015.

Bradshaw had been convicted in 2012 of using a computer to solicit a child to engage in sexual conduct. He was imprisoned for three years and four months, then released with the requirement that he register as a sex offender and with an additional requirement that he register all of his internet accounts with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

But when FCSO detectives checked listed addresses for all registered sex offenders and predators in Operation “Hallowed Streets,” held Oct. 29031 to ensure that offenders were complying with legal restrictions on their conduct during Halloween, detectives found that Bradshaw was living at a home not registered with law enforcement.

He'd listed his home as 55 Lincoln Ave. in Bunnell with the FDLE, but when deputies checked the house, the woman who lived at the home said Bradshaw did not reside there and that he was only there "every now and then," according to an FCSO charging affidavit.

At other times, Bradshaw confirmed to a deputy, he was staying at 8 Crompton Place, in Palm Coast — an address he hadn't registered with the FDLE, according to the charging affidavit.

Additional investigation by FCSO detectives revealed that he'd also created a SnapChat account that was not registered, and that he had used it to communicate with a 13-year-old girl. Detectives were not able to determine whether he'd used it to engage in any solicitation of the child. Some of the messages on the girl's phone had been deleted, according to the charging affidavit.

Bradshaw has been charged with two counts of failure to properly register as a sex offender.

“This isn’t his first time failing to properly register as a sex offender and unfortunately he does not seem to learn from past mistakes,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in the news release. “He went to prison for soliciting a minor online and here he is chatting with a minor again on social media. I’m proud of our detectives for working so hard to follow up on this case and get this offender back in jail.”

Bradshaw has previously been arrested on charges including misdemeanor battery, obstruction by a disguised person, driving without a license, failure to register as a sex offender, and violation of felony probation, according to the news release.