A former staff member of the Jacksonville Jaguars has been sentenced to 220 years behind bars for the creation of child sexual abuse materials and for hacking the jumbotron system at the team’s stadium.
Initially employed as a contractor in 2013 to provide expertise on the design and setup of the new video board network and later tasked with operating the jumbotron during game days, Samuel Thompson from St. Augustine was found to have a troubling history. Investigators revealed that in 2018, upon discovering that he was a registered sex offender with a previous conviction, the team chose not to extend his contract. Court documents disclosed that Thompson had been convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Alabama back in 1998.
Following the termination of his employment in March 2018, Thompson reportedly installed remote access software on a spare server located in the Jaguars’ server room. This allowed him to gain unauthorized access to the computers responsible for controlling the jumbotron during three subsequent games in the following season, resulting in repeated malfunctions of the video boards.
Upon discovery, the Jaguars identified the spare server, revoked its access to the jumbotron system, and managed to gather network data. Prosecutors stated that this information was subsequently traced back to Thompson’s residence by the FBI.
In July 2019, the FBI executed a search warrant at Thompson’s residence, where they confiscated a phone, a tablet, and two laptops. According to log files, all these devices had been utilized to access the spare jumbotron server. Additionally, agents uncovered a firearm during the search, which Thompson, as a convicted felon, was prohibited from possessing.
However, during the raid, the FBI made a disturbing discovery. Among the seized devices, they found thousands of images and hundreds of videos depicting child sexual abuse. Investigators noted that some of these files were created just a month before the raid and featured children who had been under Thompson’s care and custody.
This incident adds to another former employee’s legal troubles. That individual was recently sentenced to six years in prison for embezzling over $20 million from the team through the company’s credit card program. The funds were used to support a lavish lifestyle, including activities such as online gambling, chartering private jets, purchasing a private condominium, acquiring sports memorabilia, buying cars, indulging in spa treatments, and making other personal purchases.
