Thomas Laster

Name of Accused:
Laster, Thomas Paul

Date of Arrest:
09/30/2024


Charges For Arrest:
CHILD MOLESTATION
STATUTORY RAPE – FELONY
Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]
On September 19th 2023, I Deputy Clayton Hughes 20 was dispatched to the Larry Walker Education Center in reference to a child abuse incident. Dispatch advised the child involved was in the guidance counselors office. I responded Code One (No activated emergency lights or sirens).
Upon arrival I met with the guidance and counselor and the juvenile child (Identifed as [REDACTED BY AGENCY] DOB [REDACTED BY AGENCY]/2009). I was familiar with [REDACTED BY AGENCY] from previous encounters. I asked [REDACTED BY AGENCY] to explain to me how she was being abused. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated in March of 2024
she began snapchatting (Social Media App) a male named Thomas. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated that the male added her on the app and she accepted the follow request. I asked [REDACTED BY AGENCY] what Thomas’s last name was, but she did not know. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated her and the male began exchanging information and she found out he lived in Marietta but worked at Pricecutters Automotive located at 2488 Yukon Rd in Ellijay Ga. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated after talking with Thomas for a couple weeks she began sending nude pictures of herself to him.
I asked [REDACTED BY AGENCY] if Thomas ever asked for the pictures. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated sometimes he would but sometimes she just sent them to him randomly. I then asked if Thomas ever sent any to her. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated yes. I asked [REDACTED BY AGENCY] if she ever met up with Thomas. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated yes. I asked [REDACTED BY AGENCY] what happened when they would meet up. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated they would have sex and smoke Marijuana. I explained to [REDACTED BY AGENCY] my next questions were going to be more intrusive and asked if she would prefer to speak with a female officer. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated she was fine speaking with me.
I asked [REDACTED BY AGENCY] if Thomas ever wore a condom when they had sex. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated no. I asked [REDACTED BY AGENCY] if when they had sex was it strictly regular sex or did they do different stuff. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated they had vagnal sex, and everytime they had sex Thomas attempted to have anl sex with her but she was not sure if he was able to fully penetrate her. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] also stated they had oral sex as well. I asked ask how [REDACTED BY AGENCY] may times they had met up and had sex. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated three to four times [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated her parents had found she was talking to Thomas right before summer began and she deleted him off her snapchat account. During the interview, [REDACTED BY AGENCY]’s father [REDACTED BY AGENCY] was notified by one of [REDACTED BY AGENCY]’s friends about what was going on and he came to the school. I stepped out into the hallway and explained the situation and asked if I could continue the interview with [REDACTED BY AGENCY]. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated yes.
I asked [REDACTED BY AGENCY] why did her parents make her delete Thomas. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated her mother and aunt found out Thomas was forty two years old and he had no reasoning for messaging her. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated her mother and aunt spoke with Thomas about the incident and she no longer had with him until the beginning of August. I asked [REDACTED BY AGENCY] how they began talking again. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated that one of the two added each other back. I asked [REDACTED BY AGENCY] if they had met back up with each other since talking again. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated yes. I asked [REDACTED BY AGENCY] if they had sex since talking and meeting up again. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated they had twice. I asked [REDACTED BY AGENCY] if she had any of the messages on snapchat saved. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated no because they disappear after the person sees the pcitures or chats.
[REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated she had to delete and add Thomas over and over so when he parents went through her phone they would see his name on there. I asked [REDACTED BY AGENCY] to show me Thomas’s username on snapchat. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] logged onto snapchat and showed the account named “[REDACTED]” on snapchat. I asked [REDACTED BY AGENCY] if she had told anyone about Thomas. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated when she was in Peachford she had told her therapist about the incident but begged the therapist not to tell anyone. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated her therapist told her she would not tell anyone. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] stated she had also told her boyfriend about the incident as well. At this time I notified on call Detective Russel Henson 92 about the incident.
After the interview, Detective Henson arrived on scene and spoke with me in the hallway. I gave all information to Detective Henson and we then spoke with [REDACTED BY AGENCY] in seperate room to update him on the situation. At this time the scene was turned over to Detective Henson.
[End of Narrative]