'Criminal Casanova' duped women from coast to coast, police say

Some people claim the cure for poverty is for poor women to marry. But often the men available make the women's situation even worse.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-cooper-city-casanova-20141121-story.html

By Tonya Alanez, Sun Sentinel
Nov. 21, 2014

It seems Cooper City was the most recent stop on Trevor D. Thornton's nationwide trajectory of deceived, scorned and ripped-off women, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.

Thornton, 33, is accused of stealing a safe containing $14,000 from a Cooper City woman he romanced.

But investigators say Thornton is a serial con artist — a criminal Casanova — who has left a trail of scorned women and biological children from California to Georgia while passing himself off as a pilot, a wealthy gent or a special agent.

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"He's very charismatic, smart, intelligent. He's very proper. He has charm and makes you comfortable," said Charlaine Pierre Louis, 29, of Cooper City. "I fell for it."

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Thornton's previous victims — women in Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and California — say he has "multiple wives, fiancées, girlfriends, children and a fortune owed in child support," Moschella said.

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"An Internet search shows a substantial online presence of Thornton's alleged victims warning other women of his scams."

Among the Internet warnings are a YouTube video, a Google Plus account and multiple blogs, one titled "Stop Trevor Devon Thornton Today." They include photos of Thornton and images of marriage certificates listing Thornton as the groom.

Accusers also turned to the website cheaterville.com, where they anonymously posted about their encounters. One Georgia woman said she married Thornton in February 2012.

"I lost everything and over $10K," she wrote. "I do believe Trevor preyed on what most women our age want — love, commitment, marriage and a family."

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Investigators urge anyone who may have been victimized by Thornton to contact sheriff's Detective Robert Petoskey at 954-435-2200 or Broward Crime Stoppers, anonymously, at 954-493-8477.

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