Former Jaguars Employee Who Hacked Into Jumbotron Sentenced To 220 Years In Prison On Disturbing Charges

A former employee of the Jacksonville Jaguars who hacked into the team's jumbotron during multiple games has been sentenced to 220 years in prison for producing child sexual abuse material.

The team first hired Samuel Thompson as a contractor in 2013 to consult on the design and instillation of the then-new video network before later being hired to operate the jumbotron on gamedays. It appears that the Jaguars did not do a thorough background check on Thompson, given that in 2018 the team discovered that he was a registered sex offender with a prior conviction.

According to court records, Thompson was convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Alabama in 1998. Jacksonville did not renew his contract after discovering that news.

Thompson's employment with the team officially ended in 2018, but not before he was able to install remote access software on a spare server inside the Jags' server room. This allowed him to access the computer that controlled the jumbotron remotely, and he took advantage of that during three games the following season causing the screens to malfunction repeatedly.

The Jaguars eventually found the spare server with the FBI getting involved and tracing the network information back to Thompson's home, according to prosecutors.

The FBI executed a search warrant of his residence in July 2019. Authorities seized a phone, a tablet, two laptops, and a firearm Thompson was prohibited from owning given that he is a convicted felon.

While the FBI was expected to find software and information related to hacking into the Jagaurs' jumbotron, it found far more damning and disturbing information.

During the raid, the FBI found thousands of images and hundreds of videos of child sexual abuse across the multiple devices. Some of the videos and images had been produced just a month prior to authorities conducting their raid. Investigators said that some of the content produced depicted children that had been in his care and custody. 

According to Fox News, Thompson was convicted in 2023 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 convicted felon.