Middleburg man sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for producing child sexual abuse images

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Middleburg man will be spending the next 25 years in jail for producing child sexual abuse images.

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Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan sentenced Sam David Harris Jr., 38, on Thursday to the prison term. He will also spend a lifetime with supervised release and order to pay $65,500 in restitution to the victims of his offenses.

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Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began the investigation into Harris after a Cyber Tip was received by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The images were being uploaded to a particular website.

According to information provided by the Department of Justice, HSI Jacksonville special agents and task force officers executed a search warrant at Harris’ home. A thumb drive was found inside a bedside nightstand.

“An onsite forensic preview of the thumb drive led to the discovery of numerous videos and images depicting child sexual abuse material (CSAM),” the Department of Justice said. “Additional analysis of the thumb drive revealed more than 100 images that appeared to have been produced by Harris.”

READ: Jacksonville man pleads guilty to downloading videos and photos of children being sexually abused

Court records state that Harris’ hand, arm, and forearm were visible in several of the images. One of the females in the images was identified as a child whom Harris had contact with.

Harris pleaded guilty on Sept. 21, 2023.

This case was investigated by the Northeast Florida INTECEPT Task Force, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, and the Columbia Sheriff’s Office.

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