Sexual battery charges against deputy amended
A lieutenant with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office is charged with five counts of sexual battery on a child under the age of 12, a capital felony, officials announced Thursday.
John Mitchell Tomlinson, 46, of Navarre, was arrested March 9 and originally charged with 120 counts of sexual battery on a child between the ages of 12 and 18.
Tomlinson was transferred to the Walton County Jail where he is being held on a $500,000 bond, according to a joint statement issued by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Pensacola Regional Operations Center and the office of the State Attorney, 1st Judicial District.
“On March 3, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office asked FDLE to investigate allegations Tomlinson had inappropriate relations with a minor,” a press release issued shortly after Tomlinson’s arrest states.
The Office of State Attorney William “Bill” Eddins, 1st Judicial Circuit, assisted in the investigation and will prosecute the case, according to the release.
