FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – The Fort Wayne Police Department says that a convicted sex offender is facing new charges of child molestation after a victim came forward about the abuse. The victim alleged that it happened in both Steuben and Allen counties.
According to the FWPD, the minor victim reported last fall he had been sexually abused by 59-year-old Thomas Blayne Pendergraft.
The Steuben County Sheriff’s Department initially arrested Pendergraft in December 2023 but he was arrested again on Thursday in Allen County after an arrest warrant was issued.
Pendergraft faces charges including Level 4 felony child molesting, Class C felony child molesting, Level 6 felony dissemination of matter harmful to a minor, and an enhancement for being a repeat sexual offender.
The FWPD released the following:
Last fall, a minor child reported that he was previously the victim of child sexual abuse. Detective RJ Sutphin, a member of the FWPD Crimes Against Persons Section (CAPS), was assigned as the lead detective. The child identified Thomas Blayne Pendergraft, a convicted sex offender, as the alleged defendant and disclosed the abuse occurred in Fort Wayne and Steuben County, Indiana. A joint investigation between both jurisdictions ensued. The alleged defendant was arrested by the Steuben County Sherriff’s Department in December 2023. An arrest warrant was issued earlier last week for the offenses that allegedly occurred in Allen County. He was arrested for the listed charges on April 04, 2024. Detective Sutphin was assisted by the Steuben County Sherriff’s Department, the Dr. Bill Lewis Center For Children, the Allen County Sherriff’s Department, and the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS).
Suspect Arrested #1: Thomas Blayne Pendergraft, 59 years old
Preliminary Charges: Count I: Child Molesting, a Class C Felony
Count II Child Molesting, a Level 4 Felony
Count III: Dissemination of Matter Harmful To A Minor, A Level 6 Felony
Count IV: Repeat Sexual Offender (Enhancement)
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