RYAN BROUSSARD
Former LSU police officer
Thomas Eugene Fife, who was convicted of possessing child porn in 2010, was arrested
on Wednesday after a man came forward with allegations that Fife molested him
for years.
East Baton Rouge Parish
Sheriff’s Deputies booked Fife, 67, 16426 Coliseum Ave., Baton Rouge, into
Parish Prison on counts of sex crimes against children, prison records show.
Fife declined to comment on the
allegations when reached by phone on Wednesday prior to his arrest, besides
saying he was unaware that a warrant for his arrest had been issued.
The victim told deputies the
molestation began in 1997 when he was 7 years old and continued until 2006,
when the victim became fed up with it and threatened to tell people what Fife
was doing, the arrest warrant says.
The first time it happened,
Fife was driving the victim when he began touching the victim’s genitals, then
forced the victim to touch Fife’s genitals, the warrant says.
According to the warrant, Fife
continued molesting the boy for more than 10 years after the initial incident.
“The countless number of
offenses occurred at two different houses that the accused owned, located with
East Baton Rouge Parish,” Cpl. Jacques Jackson wrote in the warrant. “The
victim also indicated that the accused would give him money after each
encounter.”
The victim told deputies that
the reason he waited so long to report the abuse was because he was afraid and
embarrassed at what happened to him.
“He also indicated that he came
forward because the accused ruined his life,” the warrant says.
Fife denied the allegation when
questioned by deputies Saturday, saying the victim made the story up because he
refused to give the victim money last July, the warrant says.
Deputies released Fife, but
district court Judge Anthony Marabella found there was enough evidence to
justify issuing a warrant for his arrest.
Fife pleaded guilty to
possession of child pornography in federal court in Baton Rouge in 2010.
In a plea agreement with the
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Fife admitted he knowingly possessed pictures of
“minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct” and that some of the children
were younger than 12.
He was sentenced to 18 months
at the Federal Correctional Institute in Seagoville, Texas, southeast of
Dallas. A spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons said Fife served just
under 16 months after receiving 70 days credit for good behavior.
Fife was also fined $10,000,
with 10 years of post-prison supervision. The arrest could lead to a judge
revoking Fife’s probation from the 2010 guilty plea, meaning he could be kept
in prison until a probation hearing is conducted, federal officials said.
The discovery of the
pornographic images was made by LSU officers monitoring departmental computers
with surveillance software, FBI officials have said.
After that discovery, LSU
reported the matter to the FBI, which obtained a warrant to seize Fife’s
computer, cellphone and other electronic devices from his office.
The FBI arrested Fife as part
of the federal Project Safe Childhood investigations.
Fife, who had worked at the LSU
Police Department for about 21 years, resigned four days after FBI agents
seized his computer in July 2008.
