Fleming Island Man Charged in Federal Court with Receiving Child Pornography Over the Internet

JACKSONVILLE, FL—Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that Jimmy Laverne Holmes (57, Fleming Island) has been charged by a federal criminal complaint with receiving child pornography over the Internet. If convicted, Holmes faces at least five years and up to 20 years in prison. Holmes was arrested yesterday at his Fleming Island residence and later made his initial appearance in court. A detention hearing is scheduled before United States Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson on September 26, 2013, at 2:30 p.m.

According to the criminal complaint, on September 24, 2013, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office executed a federal search warrant at Holmes’ residence. Holmes was at the residence and was interviewed by agents. Holmes indicated, among other things, that he works at the Barco-Newton YMCA in Fleming Island, where he teaches sports to children. Holmes admitted using a file sharing program to download child pornography and share it with other computer users and further stated that child pornography would be found on his external hard drives. An onsite examination of one of Holmes’ external hard drives revealed that it contained child pornography. Holmes was subsequently arrested.

A criminal complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

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.usdoj.gov/psc.