A California man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for secretly filming minors he encountered at a church in order to create child sexual abuse material.
U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Becerra sentenced Jacob Melvin Hart late last month after Hart pleaded guilty to charges of attempted production and transportation of child sexual abuse material involving minors.
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said in a statement that Hart “weaponized technology and abused positions of trust to invade children’s most private spaces and sexually exploit them.”
“The 40-year sentence imposed on Jacob Melvin Hart means he will likely spend the rest of his life in federal prison,” said Quiñones. “It protects children from a calculated predator and demonstrates that we will pursue those who produce and solicit child sexual abuse material, whether their victims are here at home or across the world.”
According to authorities, Hart formerly worked as an IT consultant for a church in California, where he gave several minors laptops equipped with spyware. He could remotely activate the devices’ cameras without the children’s knowledge.
Using the spyware, Hart secretly recorded at least eight minor victims and possessed sexually explicit depictions of those child victims.
Last year, Hart was arrested at Miami International Airport after arriving on a flight from Haiti. Authorities found 33 illicit videos on his iPhone featuring girls as young as 10.
“Law enforcement also observed what appeared to be over approximately 160 artificial intelligence (AI) images and videos depicting nude prepubescent and minor females,” stated the complaint against him cited by Local 10 News.
“[Hart] explained [to police] that he generates them from a website that he pays a monthly subscription for, prompting it to create videos of naked 13-year-old girls.”
Hart was previously arrested in 2006 and convicted on charges related to placing a hidden camera in a girls’ locker room at a Christian camp in Oregon, according to the La Grande Observer.
Wayne Pickens, senior pastor at First Baptist Church of La Grande, where Hart had served as youth director, said his church contacted police when it learned of Hart’s actions.
“We are all hurting, especially those who had the closest relationships with Jake,” Pickens said in 2006, as reported by the Observer. “We are so sorry this happened.”
“We are especially concerned for the victims who feel so betrayed and wounded. We are trying our best to help young people and parents through the painful grieving process and different emotions involved.”
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