The girls had independently described behavior serious enough to require an immediate investigation.
Thomas was ordered to stay away from us.
Then police searched our house and examined his electronic devices.
What they found changed the case completely.
There were hidden accounts, conversations under false names, records involving other families, and evidence that Thomas had spent years deliberately seeking relationships where he could gain the trust of women with children.
There were other complaints.
Other names.
Other families who had once described him exactly the way I had.
Polite. Helpful. Patient. A gentleman.
Thomas was arrested.
The investigation eventually established that his interest in my family had never been as innocent as I had believed, and authorities uncovered evidence of predatory behavior involving minors long before he met me.
I remember sitting in my car outside the police station after hearing that and crying until I could barely breathe.
Not because I missed him.
