Middleburg Man Sentenced To 25 Years For Producing Child Sexual Abuse Images

Jacksonville, Florida – Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Sam David Harris, Jr. (38, Middleburg) to 25 years in federal prison for production of child sexual abuse images, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. The court also ordered Harris to pay $65,500 in restitution to the victims of his offenses. Harris pleaded guilty on September 21, 2023. 

According to court documents, in February 2023, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began an investigation into a Cyber Tip received by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) being uploaded to a particular site of an electronic services provider. This investigation led law enforcement to Harris and his residence.

On April 20, 2023, HSI Jacksonville special agents and task force officers executed a search warrant at Harris’s residence. During the search, a thumb drive was discovered concealed in the bottom portion of a small box located in the top drawer of a bedside nightstand. Also found in the top drawer was a prescription medicine container bearing Harris’s name. An onsite forensic preview of the thumb drive led to the discovery of numerous videos and images depicting child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Additional analysis of the thumb drive revealed more than 100 images that appeared to have been produced by Harris. Harris’s hand, arm, and forearm were visible in several of the files. One of the females in the images was subsequently identified as a child to whom Harris had access.

This case was investigated by the Northeast Florida INTECEPT Task Force, to include 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 County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington and former Assistant United States Attorney Kelly Karase.

This case was 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.