Palm Harbor Man Gets 8 Years for Child Sex Abuse Material

A Palm Harbor man has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for receiving and possessing child sex abuse material.

James Joseph Weishaar, 65, of Palm Harbor, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven on [DATE] for receiving and possessing child sex abuse material. The court also ordered Weishaar to pay $27,000 in restitution to victims of the offenses and register as a sex offender.

Weishaar entered a guilty plea on September 27, 2023, for his role in the offenses.

According to court documents, between March and December 2020, the FBI used a file sharing program to connect to Weishaar’s computer and download from it several files depicting the sexual abuse of children.

In January 2021, the FBI executed a search warrant at Weishaar’s home and seized several electronic devices. A forensic search of those devices revealed more than 1,000 photos and over 100 videos of child sex abuse material, including images depicting sadistic conduct and toddlers.

Weishaar stated in an interview with the FBI, “I don’t even know if it’s okay, but I’m attracted to it.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation—Tampa, with substantial assistance from the Largo Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Abigail K. King and Ross Roberts.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.