Former MD Deputy Charged With Revenge Porn, Misconduct: Prosecutor

CECIL COUNTY, MD — State prosecutors this week charged a former Maryland sheriff's deputy after authorities say he filmed a sexually explicit video of a woman without her knowledge and threatened to post it online.

Kyle L. Thomas, who served as a Cecil County deputy from February 2021 to July 2023, was charged with several counts including misconduct in office, witness retaliation, revenge porn, and distribution of obscene material, Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton Howard said Wednesday.

According to prosecutors, Thomas shot a sexually explicit video of himself while on duty and sent it to a woman he knew. After the woman notified the Cecil County Sheriff's Office about the video, prosecutors said Thomas contacted her employer and filed criminal charges against her for providing the video to authorities.

Prosecutors said charges against the woman were dismissed.

According to charging documents, Thomas also took sexually explicit video and photos of a woman he was in a relationship with without her consent. Prosecutors said when the victim tried to end her relationship with Thomas, he threatened to send the photos and video to others or post them online. According to charging documents, Thomas also sent videos of himself and the victim engaged in sexual acts to dozens of different social media users and paid some of them to watch the videos.

According to prosecutors, the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office ordered Thomas to have no contact with the victim; however, he continued to contact her in person, through text message and on different social media platforms.

“Honesty and integrity (are) essential among our law enforcement officers,” Howard said in a statement. “We will continue to investigate and, where appropriate, charge individuals who engage in behavior that undermines the values of the offices they hold.”