FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WISH) — A 59-year-old Fort Wayne man was arrested for child molestation, according to a Fort Wayne Police Department news release.

In fall 2023, a child reported that he was previously the victim of child sexual abuse. The child identified Thomas Blayne Pendergraft, 59, of Fort Wayne, a convicted sex offender, as the alleged defendant, and disclosed that the abuse occurred in Fort Wayne and Steuben County. An investigation ensued shortly after.

Pendergraft was arrested by the Steuben County Sheriff’s Department in December 2023. An arrest warrant was issued earlier last week for the offenses that allegedly occurred in Allen County. Pendergraft was arrested on April 4, and charged with two counts of child molesting, one count of dissemination of matter harmful to a minor, and one count of repeat sexual offender. He was transported to the Allen County Jail, where he is incarcerated.