Longwood man planned to kill parents, record rape of child to sell on DVD

LONGWOOD, Fla. — A 29-year-old Longwood man was arrested after authorities said he had plans of luring a young girl and her family to his home so he could kill her parents and then rape her.

The investigation began a week ago after the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said it received a tip from a confidential informant that Shawn Ryan Thomas was planning to lure the parents and a juvenile girl into a vacant house under the guise of producing a film or TV show.

Thomas then planned to kill the parents with a knife and rape and kill the child, authorities said. Thomas also planned to film the rape and produce a DVD to sell, said investigators.

According to the FDLE, Thomas lured a father, grandfather and a child to a vacant house in Longwood on June 7 by saying he was a student making a film.

The family became suspicious and left, but agents said they believe Thomas was going to try his plan again this weekend.

The father of another girl, who had a photo shoot scheduled with Thomas over the weekend, stopped by the location early and noticed a "for sale" sign in the yard of the home.  Authorities said the father left and came back later for the appointment and noticed the sign was gone but saw there was plastic lining the floor inside.

FDLE said at the time of his arrest, Thomas had a bag containing a knife, sexual lubricant, a camera and tripod, and plastic sheets.

People who Thomas was apparently living with, who did not want to be identified said, they had no idea what he was allegedly up to.

“I think it’s very sick that he was like that,” one said. “No one knew.”

Thomas is charged with premeditated attempted homicide and attempted sexual assault on a victim under 12, along with 10 counts of possession of child pornography. He's being held without bond at the Seminole County Jail.

Neighbors were shocked to hear about the allegations.

“They need to keep him there and never let him out,” said Kisha Hogan. "They have too lenient of laws for those people. They get out and they do it all over again, and it's disgusting."

Anyone with information regarding Thomas or the investigation is asked to please contact the FDLE Orlando Regional Operations Center at 800-226-8521.

WFTV