Elsea indicted on additional charges

Allegations in this case are monstrous

By SUSAN SHARP

JACKSBORO, TN. (WLAF)- Thomas Elsea, the man charged with attempting to buy a child last spring, was indicted on additional charges last week. His indictment has led to the details of his crimes coming to light.

The 85-year-old now faces attempted illegal payment in connection with placement of child; sexual exploitation of a minor; two counts solicitation of minor- aggravated rape and two counts aggravated rape of child- solicitation. These are all felony charges.

The allegations in this case are monstrous.

In his original case, Elsea was arrested at a local restaurant by LaFollette Police and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

LaFollette Police opened an investigation into a man named “Tom” after they learned he allegedly wanted to buy a child “for sexual purposes.” He  planned to keep the child in a confined area, the report said.

An undercover agent with the TBI posed as a parent who agreed to sell her child to him for $1,500. The two met at the restaurant to make the alleged exchange.  Elsea’s originally wanted the child brought to his 339 Country Club Road home.

The undercover agent refused. The pair ended up meeting in public where Elsea showed up with $1,140  and a car seat, court records said. That is when he was arrested.

Within days of the arrest, a search warrant was executed at Elsea’s LaFollette home.

Inside the residence police allegedly located a ledger. There was a receipt between a female and Elsea, which said the 85-year-old could sexually abuse her child.

On his cell phone were texts between Elsea and another person asking her to buy him a child under the age of four, the report said. He allegedly wanted a very young child, because there would be “no consequences”  because “they can’t talk and won’t remember” when he abused them, the report said.

Elsea will be arraigned on these new charges May 4 in criminal court. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 4/20/2026-6AM)