Foster dad facing life in prison for molestation
September 28, 2010, 02:32 AM By Michelle Durand Daily Journal Staff
The English software designer already found guilty of molesting young boys in his care while living in San Mateo had those 20 convictions compounded Monday with two dozen more, as jurors finished reading the verdicts reached last Friday and began a separate trial today to decide his sanity
Jurors convicted Tarquin Craig Thomas, 44, of 44 charges, and could not reach a verdict on an attempted kidnapping charge. The majority of the convictions were several variations of felony child molestation against three boys, including a foster child he was in the process of adopting. Thomas documented dozens of the acts in video footage and photographs discovered after his arrest, giving prosecutor Aaron Fitzgerald graphic images to back up his arguments during the trial.
The jury returned its decision Friday afternoon but had to recess after reading only 20 guilty verdicts, pertaining to two victims. The remainder, including those related to the only victim who testified and not filmed by Thomas, were read Monday.
The jury convicted Thomas of illegally using a GPS device to locate the foster child removed from his custody but hung on a charge of attempting to kidnap the boy and spirit him back to England.
Nine charges including child pornography possession were dismissed before deliberations.
Fitzgerald declined much comment on the verdicts other than to praise the San Mateo Police Department for its investigation, citing the work remaining in the upcoming sanity phase.
The multitude of convictions, coupled with special allegations of committing substantial sexual conduct and molesting more than one victim, means Thomas will receive a life sentence if jurors now determine he was sane. If not, he will be hospitalized until deemed sane at which time he can petition to be released as an outpatient, said Assistant District Attorney Karen Guidotti.
During the nearly three-week trial, Fitzgerald told jurors Thomas repeatedly abused three boys, including 9-year-old Oregon foster child Dylan, teenager Freddie whom Thomas met through the Boys and Girls Club in San Francisco and Blake, a teen who moved in with him. Thomas stepped into the boys’ lives when their mothers could not care for them. Freddie’s mother actually defended Thomas after his arrest but changed her mind after she discovered a flash drive containing the graphic images hidden in a box of laundry soap. She then learned of her own son’s abuse.
Although Thomas abused Freddie and Blake first, those crimes remained undetected until after Thomas’ arrest for trying to kidnap Dylan from an Oregon group home. Thomas brought Dylan to California in August 2005 and repeatedly abused him until the following November when a spanking report to Child Protective Services led to his return to Oregon. Thomas sent a frame containing a GPS device to Dylan with plans to kidnap him and return to England. Authorities found the locator, leading to Thomas’ May 27, 2007 arrest. A search of his home turned up a journal including the names of child pornography websites and toys and movies tailored to young boys. The flash drive was discovered later, leading to more charges.
Tarquin worked for Barclays Investment Firm as a software designer and ran a child photography business, with a studio in his home. After bringing Dylan from Oregon, Fitzgerald said the boy was abused from August 2005 until the following November when a spanking report to Child Protective Services led to his return to Oregon.
During closing arguments, defense attorney Richard Keyes told jurors to consider that Blake didn’t disclose the alleged molestation to authorities until after learning about the videos. He also asked jurors to keep their emotions in check and question if everything they saw met the legal definitions of the crimes charged.
Thomas did not testify on his own behalf.
Thomas remains in custody on no-bail status. The sanity phase begins Tuesday morning and is expected to last a few days.
Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102.