PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — The man who West Palm Beach police said terrorized the city for months is out of jail, and the lead investigator who helped put him there believes he will strike again.

Thomas Panno was sentenced to 45 years in prison for a number of sex crimes. But what has retired investigator Laurie Van Deusen concerned is his track record.

Panno was also convicted of sexual offenses in the 1970s and 1980s in Maryland. He is now living the life of a free man in Sarasota County.

“He is the real-life boogie man, in my opinion,” said Van Duesen.

Van Duesen first came across Panno in 1985 while working with the West Palm Beach Police Department sex crimes unit.

“We had several clusters, as I would like to refer to them, of cases occurring in our south end and in our north end, all with unique MOs,” said Van Duesen.

Police received a tip Panno was their man. They started trailing him and snapped surveillance photos.

According to court records, on Feb. 17, 1985, police started getting complaints from children about a man lurking in the Northwood area.

[Thomas Panno was arrested in West Palm Beach in the 1980s and later convicted on a number of sex crimes.]
Thomas Panno was arrested in West Palm Beach in the 1980s and later convicted on a number of sex crimes.

“They would see an individual, large in stature with a hood and/or bandana over his face, making a sound that made them look, and he would be exposing himself,” said Van Deusen.

Records also show that officers got a call about a man with a cloth over his face who told one little girl “to take it down,” referring to her clothes, and said “no other children would get hurt.” Police would later find bandanas inside Panno’s apartment.

Court records show that on May 13 of that same year, a mother who was snuggled up in bed with her 2-year-old son in their West Palm Beach home had a close encounter with that same man.

“Well, lo and behold, no longer than they go to sleep, in reaches an arm and grabs the woman behind, between the thighs and grabs her underwear and rips her underwear,” said Van Deusen.

Police would later catch up with that man inside a 1975 green Comet. They matched his footprints outside that bedroom window with the shoes he was wearing.

Panno was arrested. In 1986, he was convicted on a number of sex crimes and other charges and sentenced to 45 years in a Florida maximum security prison. He served 16 years there.

For the next seven years, Panno was in a minimum security sex offender treatment center.

Panno Apologizes To Victims, Says He Killed Man Who Did Those Crimes

In August, Panno went before a Jimmy Ryce Act jury. It was a hearing to determine whether convicted sexual offenders are still a threat. The legislation bears the name of Jimmy Ryce, who was 9 years old when he was abducted, raped and killed in Homestead, south of Miami, in 1995.

“We kept waiting and hoping he’d come to the house and he never did,” said Ryce’s father, Don Ryce. “And that was the beginning of three months of unmitigated hell while we started looking for him.”

There was no hope for Jimmy, but his parents believe the legislation is a safeguard against predators. In Panno’s case, the jury unanimously ruled to set him free.

WPBF 25 News’ Angela Rozier tracked down Panno at his North Port home and asked him what he would tell his victims.

“I talk to them,” said Panno. “I actually talked to them years ago. Anyway, there’s nothing I can tell them.”

“Are you sorry for what happened?” asked Rozier.

[Thomas Panno says "the man who did those (crimes) I killed, essentially, and there isn't a trace that remains."]
Thomas Panno says “the man who did those (crimes) I killed, essentially, and there isn’t a trace that remains.”

“Yeah, (I) didn’t like it then. (I) didn’t like it while I was learning about it. I sure don’t like it now,” said Panno. “It’s weak and cowardly. It was bad. I never tried to hide that. I never said I didn’t do, you know — but that was another time and another place, and the man who did those I killed, essentially, and there isn’t a trace that remains.”

“Obviously, we respect the jury’s opinion that they say he won’t be a threat,” said Van Duesen. “I beg to differ. I believe he will be a threat.”

When asked what he would tell people who say Panno will re-offend, Panno responded, “Well, you already asked me, and I said no. I believe I won’t. I’ve worked hard on myself for 25 years.”

Van Deusen isn’t buying it and points to Panno’s past criminal record.

In the ’70s, Panno was convicted of several sex crimes in Maryland.

Panno insists he is a changed man and criticizes the very system that treated him.

“It doesn’t matter about me,” said Panno. “All that matters is that it’s a waste of money. You can’t afford it. People can’t get health care, they can’t get educated, and you’re paying (for is) to keep some low IQ moron locked up when you can just put him next door to the prison system (and) treat him before he gets out.”

Psychologist Says System To Track Sex Offenders Is Flawed

A local attorney wants to change the laws that keep sex offenders from doing time, and a psychologist who comes face to face with these criminals said change starts with the place they call home.

There are 764 registered sex offenders living in Palm Beach County. Forensic psychologist Amy Swan said keeping track of them is not easy.

“What we’re finding as providers is that sex offender residency restrictions have made it more difficult for us to actually track sex offenders,” said Swan.

In most neighborhoods, sexual offenders aren’t allowed to live within 1,000 feet — or in some cases 2,500 feet — of places where children congregate. It’s a flaw in the system, according to Swan.

“So what we are finding is that they are sort of going underground because they are scared of being violated,” said Swan.

Swan evaluates criminals to determine if violators will pose a danger to the community if released.

“If they are moving from place to place because they are kicked out because of residency restrictions, then we can’t provide stability for them and we can’t monitor them closely, so the community is actually at more risk,” said Swan.

Panno admits some people have nowhere to go once they’re let out, but he insists that’s not the case with him.

“Hey, Florida, thanks for taking care of me for seven years, but I should have been out and would have liked to have been out, and you wasted a lot of money keeping me there because I’m as safe as anybody I’m talking to right now is,” said Panno.

Local Attorney Wants Sex Offender Laws Changed

Michael Dolce sees another kink in the system. He’s not tied to Panno, but knows the damage people like Panno can do.

“I was 7 years old when I was lured into a neighbor’s house,” said Dolce. “I was bound and raped by a neighbor and his teenage son.”

The Palm Beach Gardens attorney is heading up a campaign to amend Florida’s constitution to eliminate statute of limitations in cases of sexual battery against children.

“I was threatened with a gun and a knife to keep me silent and to keep me coming back, and I stayed silent until I was in my late 20s,” said Dolce.

Dolce said his abusers still walk the streets today, and when he came forward the statue of limitations in his home state of Maryland had expired.

He still keeps his childhood photo in his bible, a constant reminder of who he was before his childhood was taken away.

Dolce is no longer silent. He needs 700,000 signatures from registered voters to get his proposed amendment on the ballot.

“The average age of disclosure is after the age of 25,” said Dolce. “Sixty to 70 percent of all child sex abuse cases are reported after the victim turns 25. Florida law cuts off all these criminal prosecutions when the victim turns 21.”

Dolce said he is willing to fight for change as long as it takes.

SOURCE: http://www.wpbf.com/news/21529676/detail.html?taf=wpb

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