Manatee County paramedic downloaded dozens of images of child porn, cops say

A Manatee County paramedic has been charged with downloading dozens of images of children between the ages of 8-10 engaged in sexual activity.

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office was notified that Thomas Peltier, 45, had downloaded five such images through his IP address at his home in the 4000 block of Dorothy Avenue in Sarasota.

Detectives executed a search warrant on July 5 and through further investigation found 40 more videos and photographs of the children that Peltier had tried to delete.

Peltier listed himself as a paramedic working for Manatee County EMS on his arrest report.

Peltier initially denied viewing and downloading the child pornography, telling detectives that he ha, “watched regular adult pornography and sometimes disgusting things would pop up which he would immediately delete.”

Detectives say Peltier ultimately acknowledged that he used a specific file-sharing program to view the materials.

Peltier was booked into the Sarasota County jail on July 5 for the initial five charges of possessing child porn, and was rearrested and charged for the additional 40 counts on July 25.

This story was originally published July 26, 2019 at 8:24 AM.