Homosassa Man Sentenced To Seven Years In Federal Prison For Possession Of Child Sexual Abuse Material

Ocala, FL – United States District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced John Hill (41, Homosassa) to seven years in federal prison for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) involving young children. The court also ordered Hill to forfeit the cellphone used in the offense. Hill pleaded guilty on April 10, 2025.

According to court documents, in February 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received multiple cyber tips from a cloud-based storage provider reporting that hundreds of files containing CSAM had been uploaded from Hill’s cellphone. Search warrants executed on the storage provider revealed that Hill had uploaded at least 300 images of CSAM, including an image of a young child. In September 2024, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Hill’s residence and seized his cellphone. When interviewed, Hill did not deny that he had CSAM on his phone but claimed that he had been “hacked.”

A subsequent forensic examination of Hill’s cellphone revealed multiple CSAM images involving young children. The images were found within a folder saved to the camera roll, as well as on the phone’s “Clipboard,” which stores screenshots or information that has been otherwise copied by the user. The phone’s browser history revealed hundreds of visits to websites related to CSAM, and the browser’s cache contained images of minors as young as 3 years old. Investigators found no evidence that the phone had been hacked.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Belkis H. Callaos.

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

NOTE: This matter occurred on a previous date but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.