Former Blount County Sheriff’s Office employee arrested on child porn charges

BLOUNT COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) - The Blount County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) announced Tuesday afternoon the arrest of one of their former employees.

Christopher Thomason was arrested by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) State Bureau of Investigations and the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

Thomason was attending the Alabama Police Officers Standard Training Academy at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Training Facility.

He is charged with 11 counts involving child pornography.

BCSO tells WBRC that Thomason had been an employee with the jail since August of 2024, and that he sometimes worked with a K-9 to perform sweeps at the jail.

Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey said Thomason was sending explicit photos of himself to children on Snapchat and that in many of the photos he was wearing a deputy uniform.

“It takes one bad apple to make everyone look bad,” Casey said, “I wish there was ways we could weed out everybody in every career that’s a bad apple. Sadly, in this case, he wore his uniform when he sent messages.”

Casey also urged parents to be extra mindful of what their children are doing on social media.

“Keep encouraging parents to keep control on those devices,” Casey said, “In my opinion, nothing good comes out of Snapchat.”

Casey is also urging any parents whose children may have been in contact with Thomason at any time to immediately contact law enforcement.

Sheriff Mark Moon was notified of the arrest on Sept. 9.

Moon says he immediately began the process of terminating Thomason’s employment with the Blount County Sheriff’s Office.

“I am deeply saddened and disturbed by this situation. The actions alleged are completely unacceptable, and they betray the values of trust, integrity, and protection that we are sworn to uphold,” said Moon. “I want to be absolutely clear—this office will always operate with transparency and accountability to the people we serve. We will continue to fully cooperate with ALEA and all agencies involved in this investigation."

Moon described learning of Thomason’s arrest and alleged crimes as a “gut punch.”

“There was zero complaints about this guy, everybody loved him he had a great work ethic,” Moon said during a press conference Tuesday, Sept. 9. “All of us are shocked by this.”

Thomason worked at the jail for just over a year, but Moon says he had been with the sheriff’s office as a reserve officer long before Moon became sheriff.

Moon says Thomason went through a substantial background check before becoming an employee with the jail. He says the department is currently reviewing their background check process to identify any possible ways to strengthen them.

Moon also apologized to any potential victims Thomason may have come into contact with.

“I’m sorry that someone that someone that’s supposed to be trusted someone that’s supposed to have integrity and uphold the law did something this heinous,” said Moon.

The investigation is ongoing, including a search warrant at Thomason’s home.

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