Fired Jaguars Jumbotron operator sentenced to 220 years for child sex abuse

A fired Jacksonville Jaguars Jumbotron operator has been sentenced to 220 years in federal prison for multiple offenses involving sexual abuse of children, sex offender violations and causing malfunctions of the EverBank Stadium video boards, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Samuel Arthur Thompson, 53, of St. Augustine, Florida, was found guilty in November of producing, receiving and possessing child sex abuse material, producing it while required to register as a sex offender, violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, sending unauthorized damaging commands to a protected computer and possessing a firearm as a felon.

Thompson was convicted of sodomizing a 14-year-old boy in Alabama in 1998. He was hired as a contractor by the Jaguars in about 2013 to consult on the design and installation of the Jaguars’ new video board network and later operate it on gamedays. His contract required him to report his conviction, but he did not, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The Jaguars did not renew Thompson’s contract in January 2018 after learning of his conviction and status as a registered sex offender.

Before his contract expired, the investigation determined Thompson installed remote access software on a spare server of the Jaguars. He then remotely accessed computers that controlled the Jumbotron during three 2018 games causing the video boards to repeatedly malfunction.

The Jaguars determined the outages were being caused by someone sending commands via the spare server. So they set up a "honeypot" by putting the server on its own network and removing its access to the other computers that controlled the Jumbotron. During the next NFL game, the spare server was again remotely accessed and led to the Internet Protocol address of the intruder. The FBI then traced it to Thompson’s residence, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

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In July 2019 the FBI executed a search warrant at Thompson’s home and seized a number of his computers. They also seized a firearm from his nightstand, which he was prohibited from having as a felon.

Files from Thompson’s iPhone, iPad and two laptops showed that each of those devices had been used to remotely access the spare server. The FBI also found thousands of images and hundreds of videos on Thompson’s personal devices depicting child sexual abuse, including video and photos that Thompson had produced in June 2019, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Thompson’s voice could be heard speaking to the children at the beginning of the video, which was taken in his living room.

Investigators also interviewed three young boys who revealed further confirmation involving sexual abuse. The children were 7, 8 and 10 years old at the time.

In July 2019, Thompson fled to the Philippines where his passport was revoked, and he was deported in January 2020. The FBI arrested him when he was brought back to the U.S.

Further investigation revealed he had sexually exploited two additional children, including one Thompson encountered as he was fleeing from prosecution in July 2019, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

"This case exemplifies the unrelenting tenacity of investigators who pursue justice for innocent victims of crime," said Coult Markovsky, FBI Jacksonville’s acting special agent in charge. "Samuel Thompson repeatedly abused and exploited innocent children, inflicting immeasurable hurt on his victims. He also abused and exploited his employer by installing malicious software to manipulate their systems, which could have caused significantly more damage if not detected. Let this sentence serve as a pledge to all victims of crime that the FBI and our partners will doggedly pursue those who prey on them."

Several other agencies contributed to the investigation.