Southern California man arrested for sex crimes involving a minor after undercover operation

Jas Kang

May 10, 2024 at 9:48 PM·1 min read

A man from Hesperia was arrested after he allegedly tried to engage in sex acts with a minor, but instead was talking to an undercover detective.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department says 65-year-old Thomas Patrick Hannett reached out to what he thought was a 14-year-old girl on an anonymous chat website.

Hannett was instead messaging with a detective who was conducting undercover operations. Authorities say Hannett arranged to continue communication with what he thought was a young girl off the chat site.

During their communication, Hannett agreed to meet with the undercover persona to engage in sexual acts. The Hesperia native was arrested on May 9 and has been charged with lewd acts with a minor, contacting a minor for lewd purposes, and arranging to meet a minor to commit a sex crime.

Hannett is being held in custody in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Detectives believe there may be other victims. Anyone who may have been in contact with Hannett, or has more information is Anyone with information regarding this incident is being asked to contact Detective Wendy Winegar of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Crimes Against Children Detail at 909-890-4904.

Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or leave information on the We-Tip website at www.wetip.com.

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