Fleming Island Man Pleads Guilty in Federal Court to Receiving Child Pornography Over the Internet

JACKSONVILLE—United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that Jimmy Laverne Holmes (57, Fleming Island) has pleaded guilty in United States District Court, in Jacksonville, to receiving child pornography over the Internet. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years, up to 20 years in federal prison, and a potential life term of supervised release. Holmes has been in custody since his arrest on September 24, 2013. At the time of his arrest, Holmes stated that he worked at the Barco-Newton YMCA in Fleming Island, where he taught sports to children. A sentencing hearing has not yet been set.

According to court documents, an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in Jacksonville, began an investigation to identify individuals in that area that had access to and/or were trading images and videos of child pornography over the Internet. Through his investigation, the agent determined that a host computer in the Jacksonville area, using a particular Internet protocol (IP) address, was hosting images of child pornography via a particular peer-to-peer file sharing program. The agent made successful connections to the host computer and successfully downloaded several video files directly. The downloaded files contained depictions of child pornography. Further investigation revealed that the subscriber information to the IP address resolved to a particular residence located in Fleming Island, Florida, where Holmes resided.

On September 24, 2013, FBI agents and other law enforcement officers executed the search warrant at Holmes’ residence and seized several computers and other items of electronic media. At the residence, Holmes told the agents that he knew child pornography to be both illegal and morally unjustifiable and was recently downloading and watching child pornography two or three times per week. Holmes further stated that he has tried to cease such activities repeatedly but has not been able to abstain indefinitely. According to Holmes, he uses child pornography for “personal use” and further noted, “I like to watch it.” Subsequent analysis of Holmes’ computer media revealed that it contained a total of 174 videos and 247 images depicting child pornography.

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.

It is another 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. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”