North Lauderdale Man Who Transported Child Pornography Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

MIAMI – On March 14, a North Lauderdale man, who is a registered sex offender, and who was convicted of transportation of over 620 electronic images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children, was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore, who sits in Miami.

Jason Hemans, 40, arrived at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport from Jamaica on August 18, 2023. Due to Hemans being a registered sex offender, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers conducted an examination of Hemans’ smartphone. During the examination, numerous images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) were discovered on Hemans’ smartphone.  Special Agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Fort Lauderdale, responded and conducted further review of Hemans’ smartphone and discovered several hundred images of CSAM on the device and arrested Hemans, who also admitted to receiving and viewing the images. On December 19, 2023, Hemans pled guilty to one count of violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(1) (transportation of child sexual abuse material).

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, announced the sentence.

HSI Fort Lauderdale, a member of the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, investigated the case with the assistance from United States Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Koontz prosecuted the case. 

This case was a result of “Operation Angel Watch” which was created in 2007 through International Megan’s Law and is a joint effort by the Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Marshals Service.  Operation Angel Watch plays a crucial role in the global fight against transnational child sexual abuse by identifying individuals who have been previously convicted of sexual crimes against children and who may pose a potential threat while traveling overseas for the purpose of sexually abusing or exploiting minors.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 23-cr-60160.

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