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Samuel Arthur Thompson, CSAM & Jumbotron Hack, Jacksonville FL, 2024
JACKSONVILLE, FL – Samuel Arthur Thompson, 53, of St. Augustine, Florida, will spend the rest of his life in federal prison after receiving a 220-year sentence for a sickening combination of crimes: producing and possessing child sex abuse material (CSAM), hacking into the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Jumbotron system, and violating the terms of his sex offender registration. U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis handed down the sentence this Tuesday, along with a lifetime of supervised release, ensuring Thompson remains under scrutiny even after decades behind bars.
The court heard damning evidence of Thompson’s depravity. Investigators discovered thousands of images and hundreds of videos on his personal devices depicting horrific abuse of children – including bondage, torture, and bestiality. Even more chilling, Thompson produced some of this material, captured in his own living room in June 2019. Audio recordings revealed Thompson speaking directly to the children during the filming. The FBI found he was actively searching for more CSAM on the dark web just as they arrived to execute a search warrant at his home.
But the abuse wasn’t Thompson’s only transgression. The Jaguars hired Thompson around 2013 as a contractor to work on their new Jumbotron installation and operate the system on game days. Crucially, his contract required him to disclose his 1998 Alabama conviction for sodomizing a 14-year-old male – a fact he deliberately concealed. After the Jaguars learned of his past, they terminated his contract in January 2018. Thompson didn’t take it lying down. Before his contract officially ended in March 2018, he installed remote access software on a spare server within the Jaguars’ network.
Thompson then weaponized that access, launching a series of attacks during the 2018 NFL season. He remotely accessed the Jumbotron’s control systems, repeatedly causing the video boards to malfunction during games. The Jaguars initially believed they were dealing with a random technical issue, but quickly realized it was sabotage. They cleverly set up a “honeypot” – isolating the server on its own network – and captured Thompson’s IP address when he attempted another attack. The trail led directly to his residence.
The July 2019 FBI raid uncovered not only the digital evidence of CSAM but also a firearm on Thompson’s nightstand – a clear violation of federal law given his prior conviction and registered sex offender status. Log files from Thompson’s iPhone, iPad, and laptops confirmed he used those devices to access the Jaguars’ server. The jury convicted Thompson on November 17, 2023, on charges including producing CSAM, violating SORNA, damaging a protected computer, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The court ordered Thompson to forfeit the computers and the weapon used to commit these crimes.
U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg of the Middle District of Florida stated the sentence reflects the severity of Thompson’s crimes. “This individual exploited vulnerable children and then attempted to disrupt a major sporting event as an act of malice,” Handberg said. “This sentence sends a clear message that we will relentlessly pursue and prosecute those who engage in such heinous acts and seek to harm our communities.” The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Key Facts
- Agency: ATF
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Weapons
- Source: Official Press Release
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