Child predator’s conviction upheld

Jeffrey Lee Thomas was sentenced in January to 270 years to life in prison after being found guilty of two counts of committing a lewd act on a child and one count of continuous sexual abuse.

Thomas — who lived in Palmdale — began abusing the 8- and 13-year-old girls after beginning a relationship with their mother, according to testimony presented during his trial.

He was charged after the youngest girl told a medical professional what had happened, Deputy District Attorney Scott Yang said.

Thomas was previously convicted in 2002 of two lewd act counts and one forcible lewd act count involving children.

In September, a three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected the defense’s argument that his trial was unfair because a judge allowed jurors to hear evidence about his prior sexual offenses.

Previous related stories:

Child predator gets 270 years

Registered sex offender convicted of molesting 2 girls

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