A convicted child molester was found guilty Friday of hacking the Jacksonville Jaguars’ stadium jumbotron, the Associated Press reported.
The incident occurred after the NFL team terminated the contract with Samuel Arthur Thompson, 53, upon discovering his status as a registered sex offender, according to the AP.
Thompson faces a minimum of 35 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for March 25. He was convicted of multiple charges, including “producing, receiving and possessing sexual images of children, producing such images 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,” the AP reported, citing court records.
The arrest followed Thompson’s deportation from the Philippines to the U.S. in early 2020. The FBI had previously seized several of his computers during a search warrant execution at his home, per the AP.
Convicted sex offender found guilty of hacking jumbotron at Jacksonville Jaguars’ stadium https://t.co/ca2brDbVZv
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) November 18, 2023
In 1998, Thompson was convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Alabama, necessitating sex offender registration and international travel reporting, the AP reported. The Jaguars employed him as a contractor beginning in 2013 for their video board network and later for operating the jumbotron on game days. His contract was not renewed in 2018 after his criminal history was revealed, the report says.
Prosecutors stated that Thompson installed remote access software on a server in the Jaguars’ server room before his contract ended in March 2018, the AP noted. He then remotely disrupted the jumbotron during three games in 2018 before the Jaguars’ IT team was able to trace the intrusions back to Thompson, the AP reported. (RELATED: NFL Team Releases Star After Wild Week, Arrest)
A 2019 FBI raid on Thompson’s residence led to the seizure of devices used in the hacking and a firearm. Investigators also reportedly discovered thousands of child sexual abuse images and videos, including some produced by Thompson, per the Associated Press.
“We are proud of our current and former employees who provided evidence and testimony to assist in the conviction,” the Jaguars said in a statement, according to the AP.