Ex-Jaguars employee who hacked Jumobtron sentenced to 220 years in prison
A U.S. district judge in Florida sentenced a convicted sex offender to 220 years in federal prison for producing, receiving and possessing child abuse A U.S. district judge in Florida has sentenced convicted sex offender Samuel Arthur Thompson, a former employee of the Jacksonville Jaguars, to 220 years in federal prison. Thompson was convicted of producing, receiving and possessing child abuse material, and for hacking the Jumbotron at the stadium after the team failed to renew his contract when he learned he was a registered sex offender. Thompson had previously been convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in 1998 and was required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). The FBI seized Thompson's computers and a firearm as a convicted felon in July 2019. The FBI found files from Thompson's devices used to remotely access the backup server and thousands of images and hundreds of videos showing child abuse.
Published : 2 months ago by Matthew West in Tech
A U.S. district judge in Florida sentenced a convicted sex offender to 220 years in federal prison for producing, receiving and possessing child abuse material and for hacking the Jumbotron at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ stadium after the team failed to renew his contract when he heard of it learned he was a registered sex offender.
U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis sentenced Samuel Arthur Thompson, 53, on Tuesday for those crimes, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said in a news release. A federal jury convicted Thompson in November 2023 of these crimes, as well as producing child abuse material while registering as a sex offender, violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
Thompson had previously been convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Alabama in 1998 and was required to register as a sex offender.
Federal prosecutors said in their news release that Thompson was hired by the Jaguars around 2013 to help design and install the stadium’s main screen and then was tasked with operating it on game days.
“Thompson’s contract with the Jaguars required him to report his conviction, which he failed to do. “In January 2018, the Jaguars decided not to renew Thompson’s contract after learning of his conviction and status as a registered sex offender,” the release said. “Before Thompson’s contract expired in March 2018, Thompson installed remote access software on a replacement server in the Jaguars’ server room. “Thompson then remotely accessed computers controlling the jumbotron during three NFL games of the 2018 season, causing the video boards to repeatedly malfunction.”
The Jaguars eventually found a replacement server and captured the IP address of the intruder attempting to remotely control the Jumbotron during their next game in December 2018. According to the press release, the FBI traced the intruder’s IP address to Thompson’s residence.
In July 2019, the FBI searched Thompson’s home and seized his computers and a firearm, which he was prohibited from possessing as a convicted felon. The FBI found files from Thompson’s devices showing they were used to remotely access the backup server, as well as thousands of images and hundreds of videos showing child abuse material, the release said.
“Samuel Thompson repeatedly abused and exploited innocent children, causing untold harm to his victims,” FBI Jacksonville Assistant Special Agent in Charge Coult Markovsky said in a statement. “He also abused and exploited his employer by installing malware to manipulate its systems, which, if not discovered, could have caused significantly more damage.”
In a statement released in November after Thompson’s sentencing, the Jaguars thanked prosecutors for their work in the case.
Topics: Crime, Security, Security Breach