Latest / Crime Stories with Nancy Grace / Florida Inmate Caught Operating CSAM Ring from Prison Cell | Crime Alert 10.28.26

Transcript

Florida Inmate Caught Operating CSAM Ring from Prison Cell | Crime Alert 10.28.26 · Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Crime Alert, hourly update, breaking crime news now.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: I'm Sydney Silvani. A convicted child molester serving a 25-year
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: sentence at Florida's Martin Correctional Institution has allegedly been caught
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: using an illegal cell phone in his cell to communicate
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: with a minor and gather thousands of child sexual abuse images.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: According to the Florida Department of Corrections, 44-year-old Thomas Kendall Jr.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: was convicted in September 2024 of child molestation and possession
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: of child sexual abuse material. A November 2023 Broward Sheriff's
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: Office arrest report alleged that Kendall photographed himself sexually abusing
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: a relative and paid an overseas contact $ 40 to sexually
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: abuse a young girl during a live video chat. The
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: FBI also charged Kendall with producing child pornography, ensuring he
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: will serve federal prison time following his state sentence. Investigators
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: recently discovered the contraband phone in Kendall's cell after an
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: Internet Crimes Against Children tip. The device allegedly contained thousands
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: of abusive files, including AI-generated images depicting the victim from
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: his original case, alongside evidence that Kendall had been messaging
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: a minor on social media. Martin County Sheriff John Budenziak
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: made his absolute disgust clear to WPBF.
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: If I had my way, truthfully, I believe in rehabilitation.
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: I believe in second chances. This guy is not that guy.
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: This guy deserves to get the ultimate penalty. If I
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: had my way, he would get the death penalty. He
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: is victimizing and continuing to victimize our youth while he
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: sits on our prison.
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: Sheriff Budenziak revealed the device was not well hidden. taking
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: to CBS 12 to demand preventative technology.
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: There is cell phone jamming equipment that I believe the
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: state needs to purchase and start shutting this kind.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: Of activity down.
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: The Florida Department of Corrections insists it enforces a strict
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: zero tolerance contraband policy, executing routine searches while working alongside
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: the inspector general and Martin County deputies. More crime and
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: justice news after this. In California, a 34-year-old man has
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: been charged with murder after allegedly poisoning his cancer-stricken foster
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: mother with a lethal dose of fentanyl and stealing her identity.
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: Cedric Von Ferdinand was arrested October 20th for the murder
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: of 64-year-old Nadine Jett, a prominent Los Angeles County attorney.
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: San Diego County District Attorney Summer Steffen revealed that when
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: Jett was diagnosed with cancer in August 2023, Von Ferdinand
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: moved into her Valley Center residence under the pretense of
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: providing care. Authorities believe he killed Jett between January 14th
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: and 17th of 2024, shortly after her chemotherapy appointment. Von
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: Ferdinand then told friends Jett wanted cremation without a funeral
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: and falsely told a home caregiver she died in Mexico.
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: Suspicion grew when he failed to provide a death certificate,
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: prompting Jett's other foster children to report her missing and
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: expose fraudulent deed transfers. In July 2025, San Diego County
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: Sheriff Kelly Martinez confirmed deputies found Jett's remains buried six
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: feet deep on her 20-acre property, with a medical examiner
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: ruling it a homicide. With financial losses topping $ 500, 000, District
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: Attorney Stephan addressed the press.
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: This is a case of deadly greed. It's a case
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: where the defendant is already a defendant in real estate
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: fraud involving our victim Nadine. He preyed on her in
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: her time of need when she was suffering from cancer.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: It is quite despicable.
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: Two others also face fraud charges. At the press conference,
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: foster daughter Bianca Lucci remembered the woman who took her
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: family in after 10 foster homes.
• 3:56
  Speaker 4: And she was that mom we needed. She gave us
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: a fair chance at life. So I'm glad justice will
• 4:06
  Speaker 4: finally be served. I do believe that this was all
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: off greed of money, and it's just sad.
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: Defense attorney Ashley Mangold says Von Ferdinand maintains his innocence
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: and love for his mother. Arraignment is set for November 5th.
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: In Alabama, 47-year-old Thomas Henry Steele faces two counts of
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: capital murder, accused of decapitating his 65-year-old aunt, Christy DeLoach,
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: and 85-year-old grandmother, Dora Boone, with a chainsaw inside their
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: mobile home. Hours before police found their bodies on October 12th,
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: a relative called 911. According to a call transcript, the
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: caller reported Steele had stopped taking lithium, given away his phone,
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: and was giving away his car, noting he was bipolar
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: but currently calm. Dispatchers provided the non-emergency police number. Officers
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: subsequently discovered the victims and detained Steele, who lived at
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: the home. During an October 13th hearing, Judge Wesley Pipes
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: ordered an inpatient competency evaluation after Steele told the judge
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: to kill his court-appointed public defender, Glenn Davidson. Mobile County
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: District Attorney spokesman Mobile County District Attorney Spokeswoman Tara Zeman
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: stated prosecutors are weighing additional charges pending that evaluation, which
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: could take up to 90 days at the state mental
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: health department. Steele is scheduled for arraignment on November 19th.
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: In Mobile, DeLoach spent 15 years styling hair at Mr.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: Sam's Hair Fashions, where salon owner Lenny Zange spoke with WKRG.
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: Just a real sweet girl, beautiful person, but I consider
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: her a friend.
• 5:43
  Speaker 4: You know, she'd been with us for 15 years, and she.
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: Cut my hair.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: Grieving neighbors remembered DeLoach as a deeply loving caregiver who
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: attended local neighborhood events and devoted her life to caring
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: for her elderly mother. For more crime and justice news,
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: be sure to join us for Crime Stories with Nancy
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: Grace on Fox One, YouTube, Sirius XM, and now streaming
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: on Tubi. With this crime alert, I'm Sydney Silvani.