LEBANON, Pa. — A Lebanon County foster parent will serve decades in state prison after being sentenced Monday on charges that he sexually assaulted a child in his care, possessed hundreds of images of child pornography, and was in possession of methamphetamine, district attorney Pier Hess Graf said in a press release.
Scott Thomas, 55, pleaded no contest to charges of sexual assault of a child, possession of child pornography and possession of methamphetamine, Graf said.
He was charged last year with sexually assaulting multiple children in his care, offering them drugs and alcohol while they lived in the Lebanon County home he shared with his wife, Graf said.
According to Graf, police were called to Thomas' home on the 900 block of Lilac Lane in November 2019 for a reported verbal altercation between Thomas and his wife, Veronica.
While there, Graf said, officers were approached by an adolescent foster child residing at the home who told them that Thomas had molested children and possessed child pornography. Police immediately began an investigation.
The Thomases were approved foster parents through Lebanon County Children and Youth. There were several foster children living in their home at the time of Thomas' arrest, Graf said.
The teenager told investigators that the Thomases furnished the children with alcohol and allowed them to use marijuana. Scott Thomas allegedly used methamphetamines when he was supposed to be caring for the children, according to the teen.
The teenager also said that other, younger children in the home had confessed that Thomas had molested and took pictures of them.
Police interviewed two other children who accused Thomas of molesting them. One victim told police she was between 5 and 10 years old when she was in the Thomas home. She said Thomas forced her to perform sex acts and told her that it was their secret. Another victim told police she was 5 years old when Thomas molested her when she was in his care, after she'd get home from school for the day.
A week later, police seized multiple electronic devices while executing a search warrant at the Thomas home. According to court documents, investigators found more than 500 images of child pornography on Thomas' devices. The images were of children ranging in age for toddlers to teenagers, some of them extremely graphic. One of the children was actually someone Thomas had cared for when they were a toddler.
As part of his sentencing, Thomas was evaluated as a sexually violent predator and must register as a sex offender under Megan's Law for the rest of his life, Graf said.
