UPDATE -- Thursday (12/15): More potential victims come forward as Sedgwick County investigates Thomas Delgado, arrested last week, accused of rape, sexual battery and sexual exploitation of a child.

The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office can't say how many potential victims came forward this week because they're still working to figure out if any of those additional claims against Delgado rise to the level of criminal activity.

Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter says the original complaint against Delgado mentioned two girls by name under the age of 18, who Delgado may have had illegal contact with.

Easter says it's not uncommon to have more victims come forward in cases like this. Thursday, Eyewitness News also learned the sheriff's office was contacted by the FBI in 2014 about a woman who made a complaint against Delgado.

Easter says the woman wanted to remain anonymous, so the FBI could not release her name. He says this made it impossible to move forward with the investigation.

The 2014 incident was reported after Delgado left the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office. Previously, now former Valley Center Police Chief Mark Hephner said he did not know about a prior incident in 2011 involving Delgado. In the incident, Delgado was a Sedgwick County Sheriff's deputy, found at fault after being accused of inappropriately touching a teenage girl during a ride-along.

Valley Center Mayor Laurie Dove says the city's chief was not aware of the 2011 incident because the department failed to obtain a key piece of information that would give them access to Delgado's work history.

In part, the policy states: "Every candidate shall undergo a thorough background investigation to verify his or her personal integrity and high ethical standards and to identify any past behavior that my be indicative of the candidate's unsuitability to perform duties."

Dove says there is nothing wrong with that policy as long as it is followed correctly. She says the city is forming a review committee to make sure no piece of information slips through the cracks again.

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Valley Center's police chief says he did not know about a prior complaint against Thomas Delgado until after he hired him.

That prior incident is reported to have happened in 2011 when Delgado was working as a Sedgwick County Sheriff's deputy.

Valley Center Police Chief Mark Hephner says the department performs background checks on all prospective employees and even requires them to sign a release, giving access to work history. But Hephner says something went wrong and he never got that information on Delgado.

Delgado was arrested Thursday, accused of rape, sexual battery and sexual exploitation of a child. These aren't the first accusations against him.

Charles Ingram says Delgado touched his daughter inappropriately during a ride-along in 2011 when she was a teenager. Delgado was a Sedgwick County deputy at that time.

The incident led to an internal investigation and Delgado was found at fault. Ingram says as soon as he learned Delgado was with Valley Center, he called Hephner.

"He reiterated many times that he did a thorough background check and did not find anything," Ingram says. "He was shocked that he didn't get that information."

That was in 2015, about a year after Delgado was hired in Valley Center. Hephner says that's what prompted him to contact Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter.

"The sheriff did tell me about the background and the history, and what the sustained complaint was for," Hephner says.

Hephner says his department performs criminal background checks and says Delgado signed a release, allowing them to access his work history. But he says he never got that information.

"It wasn't the fault of the sheriff's department on their side," Hephner says. "I'm assuming the detective doing the follow up didn't get that side of the information."

Eyewitness News asked Hephner if that information would have prevented him from hiring Delgado.

"Certainly, if there was something there, I'd look at it and evaluate," he says.

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Sheriff Jeff Easter released new details in the arrest of a former Valley Center Police Sergeant Monday. Thomas Delgado was arrested Thursday. The 49-year-old is accused of rape, sexual battery and sexual exploitation of a child.

Easter says the investigation started with a complaint. He can't go into detail about the nature of the complaint, but says it mentioned two girls by name under age 18 who Delgado may have had contact with.

Delgado was released from jail on bond Friday. The same day, we talked to a woman who said Delgado touched her inappropriately in 2011 while he was working as a Sedgwick County Sheriff's Deputy. The victim, who does not want to be identified, was a teenager at the time.

The victim's family filed a complaint with the sheriff's office, but it only led to an internal investigation, not criminal. Easter says the complaint was sustained, meaning Delgado was at fault. He says family received a letter notifying them of the sustainment.

That was before Easter took office as sheriff. He says that situation would be handled differently now.

"We would investigate that as criminal because that's a possible sexual battery based upon the facts as I know them," said Easter.

Easter says no other victims have come forward, but it's not uncommon in cases like this.

"Any time you have cases like this you anticipate that there could possibly be other victims that were either too scared because of his influence as a law enforcement officer...or felt like no one would believe them anyway," said Easter.

Delgado has not been formally charged. Easter says they are still gathering information and conducting interviews. He expects to present the case to the District Attorney this week. The DA will then make a charging decision.

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A woman is coming forward with her story after a Valley Center police sergeant was arrested for sex crimes. Thomas Delgado was arrested Thursday for rape, sexual battery, sexual exploitation of a child, and official misconduct.

A 21-year-old woman says Delgado made sexual advances towards her years ago.

She and her father don't want to be identified at this time - Delgado posted bond Friday night and is out of jail, and the woman's dad says he's worried Delgado behavior could be unpredictable.

The woman says she wants to share her story, because she believes there are other victims out there.

"I just want people to be aware - he's a predator. This isn't just a one time thing. He's a predator," she said.

She says in 2011, when she was 16 yeas old, she went on a ride along with Delgado. He was a Sedgwick County sheriff's deputy at the time

"He just started asking about my sex life," she said.

She says then Delgado told her about his sex life, made other vulgar comments about what he thought she'd be like in bed, and touched her leg.

"He just made me so uncomfortable. He rubbed my leg a couple of times," she said. "I was scared about what would happen if he tried to do something. If he tried to initiate something. Because I was scared him as a police officer," she said.

She didn't tell her parents right away, but did tell her boyfriend at the time. A couple of months later, he told her parents. They say that's when they filed a police report.

Thursday, she found out about Delgado's arrest and that he was a sergeant at Valley Center.

"I'm angry because of the investigation that we had over 5 years ago, and the fact that he still had a job. That he didn't get in trouble. This should've never have happened. There's another victim because the police didn't do their job, there wasn't justice," she said.

She says Delgado's arrest brings her no relief.

"I don’t really feel anything other than just frustrated and angry because I hate that something – he allegedly raped someone. I can’t believe that it got this far," she said.

She says the sheriff's office should have handled the situation differently back in 2011.

Delgado left the sheriff's office and was hired in Valley Center in 2014. We asked the Valley Center police chief, Mark Hephner, whether he knew about the allegations against Delgado.

"There wasn't a sustained complaint involving that, so it was investigated, and to my understanding, the way the sheriff (Sedgwick county Sheriff Jeff Easter) explained it to me there wasn't anything sustained," Hephner said.

Friday night, the Chief posted a letter on Facebook, saying officers strive to provide a safe environment for citizens, and that it is devastating when an officer violates his or her oath of office.

Delgado was released Friday after posting the $75,000 bond. We have not heard when he is set to appear in court.

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A Valley Center Police sergeant was arrested Thursday on charges including rape, sexual battery, sexual exploitation of a child and official misconduct.

Records show Thomas Delgado was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail a little before 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Delgado bonded out of jail on a $75,000 bond just before 5 p.m. Friday.

Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter tells us Delgado, 49, was employed with the Valley Center police department. Mark Hephner, the Valley Center Police Chief, said Delgado handed in his resignation Thursday.

The

reports Delgado started with the Valley Center Police Department in April 2014.

Prior to working for Valley Center, Delgado was a Sedgwick County Sheriff's deputy. He also worked at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility.

Eyewitness News talked to a father who said Delgado touched his daughter inappropriately in 2011. Eyewitness News is not identifying the father or daughter at this time.

The father said Delgado was a Sedgwick County Sheriff's deputy when he offered to take the daughter for a ride-along in his sheriff's patrol car. The father accused Delgado of saying vulgar things to his underage daughter, touching her on the leg several times.

The father said he made a complaint at the time, but little was done. Eyewitness News asked the Valley Center Police Chief whether he knew about the allegations against Delgado when he hired him in 2014.

"It was investigated, and to my understanding, the way the sheriff explained it to me, there wasn't anything sustained," Hephner said.

In 2011 Delgado was one of two deputies who pulled a man to safety after a crash. In 2012, the deputies were among 18 people across the U.S. and Canada selected for the Carnegie Hero Award.

(Note: Our initial report stated that Delgado worked at the Reno County Jail, Reno County Sheriff Randy Henderson says Delgado worked at the prison in Hutchinson, not for his office which runs the jail.)