Thomas Blevins
Thomas Blevins, 29, of Dunlap, Tenn., is charged with aggravated child molestation, false imprisonment, and two counts of child molestation. He signed extradition papers and was transferred from Sequatchie County, Tenn., to the Catoosa County jail Dec. 13 after being arrested in Dunlap, Tenn., on Tuesday night, Dec. 11.
Blevins, who had been the band director at Lakeview Middle School for the past six years, resigned recently after an investigation began examining “inappropriate” text messages to a teenage female. He was suspended by the Catoosa County school system on Nov. 27, and subsequently resigned prior to a hearing that was scheduled to determine his fate at the school.
According to a news release from Catoosa County sheriff Phil Summers, Blevins' arrest was the result of a month-long investigation by the sheriff's office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation amidst allegations that Blevins had engaged in inappropriate contact with a 14-year-old female.
“The female victim was not a student at Lakeview Middle School at the time of the incident,” Summers said in the news release. “The investigation began after a complaint from administrators at the Catoosa County school system.”
Blevins was booked into the Catoosa County jail at 10:07 a.m. on Dec. 13.
In the wake of the accusations against Blevins, his family and supporters launched a Facebook page on the day after his arrest. The page, titled “We Support Thomas Blevins,” had 188 “likes” as of Friday morning, Dec. 14.
The page describes Blevins as “a loving husband and father to two wonderful children,” and states that he is “a loyal brother, son, and father who has been accused of wrongdoing in the school system, and is being treated as guilty until proven innocent.”
The site’s cover photo at the top of the home page refers to the scripture of Psalm 109, which begins, “Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise; for the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.”
According to Blevins’ personal Facebook page: He was born Feb. 8, 1983. He is a 2001 graduate of Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School. He is a 2005 graduate of the University of Georgia. He became band director at Lakeview Middle School in July 2007. He earned a master’s degree in music education from UGA in 2009. He is a member of First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga. He is married and has two children. As of Dec. 14, he had 1,158 Facebook friends.
What is wrong with supporters launching sites, etc. in support of someone they love and care about? Oh, that's right, people like you only want to hear your side of the story, right?
No, he has only had one day in court in Catoosa County, and if you took the time to research the other inmates currently jailed for possible sex crimes in Catoosa County, you would see that practically none of them were given bond.
The investigation was not a month long! Try 2 weeks instead. If the Catoosa County Sheriff's Office can't get the facts straight themselves, then how can we trust anything they come out with in this case or any other?
Also, what happened to "innocent until proven guilty"?
Also, if you knew anything about how school systems work, then you would realize that even though they claim to be having a hearing to determine your employment status, they often have already made up their mind and the unfortunate employee has no other option but to either be fired or resign.
It would be nice if you and other media outlets would remember that you are supposed to remain unbiased when reporting the news and that there is always two sides to each story.
How about next time you just report the facts of the case at hand and leave his family, church membership and any other personal info off your website. Nobody's business where he goes to church, when he graduated and from where or his family life.
2) REMEMBER TONYA CRAFT!
((It was really necessary for you to post all of this personal information about this man on the internet?))
ABSOLUTELY! All parents with children assosiated directly or indirectly with Thomas Blevins need to be aware and talk to their kids to make sure they haven't been approached or harmed by this person.
((Way to contribute to people being persecuted by the media before they've had their day in court.))
Thomas Blevins has already had several days in court. One of which he was DENIED BAIL. Judges don't deny bail unless: 1) YOU POSE A FURTHER THREAT TO THE COMMUNITY 2) YOU ARE A FLIGHT RISK 3) A PERSON IS IN FEAR OF THEIR LIFE I think it's fair to state that Blevins fits the criteria on all three counts.
Ft. Oglethorpe City Police, Catoosa County Police, Sequatchie County Police and the GBI have been investigating Blevins for over a month now. They don't want to go through another 'Tonya Craft' incident. They wanted to make sure they had it all correct before an arrest was made. During that time Catoosa County Schools began an investigation examining inappropriate text messages to a teenage female. Did Thomas Blevins stand up for himself as he did two years ago? No, he resigned after teaching for six years leaving his family without an income. I'd say that's as close to admitting guilt as one could possibly get.
((Hopefully, his family will shut down his personal Facebook page before it is slammed with people posting threats.))
His family is not interested in shutting down his page. In fact, they have started more facebook pages in support of Thomas Blevins.
((How about next time you just report the facts of the case at hand and leave his family, church membership and any other personal info off your website. Nobody's business where he goes to church, when he graduated and from where or his family life.))
Thomas Blevins' family have posted the location of their church, churchmember names and much more personal information. I would encourage everyone to LIKE this facebook page and his personal facebbok page and view them often so we can be aware of his possible release.
Thomas Blevins wasn't concerned about his privacy. If Thomas Blevins was going to behave in this manner, he shouldn't have had a facebook page to begin with. Not to mention, you don't text little girls on your iphone, ipod or computer and get caught doing it THEN you still don't shut down your facebook page? Besides, anyone with a half of a brain stem should know that DELETE does not mean DELETED.
We all need to focus on the fact that there were several young girls stating that they were imprisoned, sexually assaulted (AGGRAVATED) which means they were also harmed or sodomized. After a long and extensive investigation Thomas Blevins was arrested and denied bond. Everyone in Catoosa County should be glad he is off the streets until he gets to court so that all of our children are guaranteed to be safe (at least from Thomas Blevins.)
O.C.G.A. § 16-6-4. Child molestation; aggravated child molestation.
http://legalage.wordpress.com/2007/10/30/ocga-§-16-6-4-child-molestation-aggravated-child-molestation/