A former employee of the Jacksonville Jaguars has been sentenced to more than 200 years in prison for child sex crimes.
Samuel Arthur Thompson, 53, received a federal prison sentence of 220 years from a judge in Jacksonville on Monday. Thompson’s conviction in November included charges of producing, receiving, and possessing sexual images of children, as well as violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
Additionally, he was found guilty of hacking the Jaguars’ Jumbotron screen after the team chose not to retain him due to his status as a sexual offender.
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A convicted child molester has been sentenced to 220 years in federal prison for producing child sexual abuse material and hacking the jumbotron at the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium after the team learned he was a registered sex offender and fired him via ESPN.
Thompson’s criminal history traces back to a 1998 conviction for sexually assaulting a teenage boy in Alabama, for which he was sentenced to three-to-ten years in prison, ultimately serving less than two years.
During his tenure with the Jaguars from 2013 to 2018, Thompson was involved in installing the jumbotron at EverBank Stadium and operated the video screen during game days. However, his contract required him to disclose his status as a sex offender, and the team opted not to renew his contract when he failed to do so. Subsequently, Thompson hacked into the team’s video board during games, causing malfunctions.
After an FBI investigation, Thompson fled to the Philippines, but he was deported to the United States in January 2020 and arrested pending trial.
Brandon Champion, who was abused by Thompson as a teenager, expressed relief at the sentencing, stating, “This is the first time I have been able to rest easy, knowing that he will never live long enough to see another victim. He will never prey on another kid.”
