Florida man gets prison after luring 5-year-old girl from birthday party
A Palmetto man could spend the rest of his life in prison after investigators say he lured a 5-year-old girl from a birthday party and raped her.
A Manatee County judge sentenced 47-year-old Christopher Thompson to 40 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to multiple child sex crimes across four felony cases, according to court records.
Court records show Thompson pleaded guilty in June to six felony charges across the four cases, including two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child under 12, one count of molestation of a child between 12 and 16, one count of attempted molestation and two counts of video voyeurism involving minors, court records show.
Reached for comment, Thompson’s attorney declined to comment further but noted he had already pleaded guilty in federal court for facts arising from the Manatee County cases.
Thompson will serve the new prison sentence simultaneously with a prior federal sentence of 60 years for related crimes.
Palmetto man had history of child sexual abuse
Deputies with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office first arrested Thompson in April 2022 after a 5-year-old girl’s parents reported sexual battery, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.
Detectives say Thompson lured the girl away from her friend’s birthday party in the Old Mill Preserve subdivision, near Buffalo Creek Park, to his house across the street in the 7000 block of Water Mill Street in Palmetto.
Investigators said Thompson then raped the 5-year-old girl and forced her to watch homemade child sexual abuse material showing him abusing other children “around the same age.”
The girl later told detectives that Thompson had previously abused her in the same way while Thompson’s family and her family were on vacation together in Georgia, according to an arrest report.
Deputies say Thompson’s arrest uncovered a long history of touching and filming young girls that led to both local and federal charges.
Law enforcement finds thousands of sex abuse images
According to an arrest report, the FBI seized and forensically reviewed several of Thompson’s electronic devices. Investigators said they found thousands of images or videos depicting child sexual abuse on two phones, an external hard drive, an SD card and a box of DVDs.
Detectives said they discovered more than 18,000 images and videos depicting child sexual abuse in Thompson’s possession, as well as approximately four videos and five images of child sexual abuse they say Thompson produced himself.
At a 2022 news conference announcing Thompson’s arrest, Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells described him as one of the most dangerous individuals his agency had ever encountered.
“This is the devil. When he wakes up every day, all he thinks about is how he can sexually batter another child,” Wells said. “That’s what he does each and every day. That’s his mindset.”
The material produced by Thompson showed him sexually abusing girls as young as 3 and as old as 14, according to an arrest report.
He had many victims, investigators say
Investigators said the videos date back to 2010. At least nine victims have been identified, according to court documents.
Several of the charges Thompson pleaded to in Manatee County involved separate incidents uncovered during the initial investigation, while parents reported others.
During a sleepover at his home in February 2022, a 7-year-old girl reported that Thompson got into bed with her and touched her over her underwear, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.
The mother called the sheriff’s office after her daughter told her about the abuse, according to an arrest report.
During the investigation, detectives said they found a photo of a girl in blue underwear with Thompson’s genitalia also in the photo. According to an arrest report, the mother identified this girl as her 8-year-old daughter, who was also at the sleepover.
The 8-year-old couldn’t provide any details because she was unaware that Thompson had taken any photos of her, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.
In many of the cases, detectives say Thompson’s victims were “completely unaware of his actions.”
Crimes during play dates, birthday parties
Another victim was a 12-year-old girl who detectives say Thompson took inappropriate photos of just a week before he abused the 7-year-old. The photos showed Thompson’s genitalia touching the girl’s shorts, according to an arrest report.
Investigators spoke to one of Thompson’s neighbors, who they say identified the 12-year-old in the photo as her daughter. The girl told investigators she often went to Thompson’s home to play with his children, but said he had never touched her or made any inappropriate comments, according to an arrest report.
Investigators said many of the crimes occurred when children came over to play with Thompson’s kids.
In another case, detectives say Thompson recorded an 11-year-old girl’s underwear at a trampoline park during his own child’s birthday party. Like many of the other victims, the girl was unaware of the abuse, according to an arrest report.
Court records show Thompson pleaded guilty in each of these cases and no longer has any charges pending in Manatee County.
In June 2024, U.S. District Judge William F. Jung sentenced Thompson to 60 years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to producing and possessing illegal material involving minors. Prosecutors, the victims’ families and Thompson all agreed he should receive the maximum sentence under federal law, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.
Court records show Thompson was designated a sexual predator and ordered to serve lifetime sex offender probation if released. He remains in federal custody.
This story was originally published June 26, 2025 at 10:37 AM.
