Ex-Jaguars employee who hacked into scoreboard sentenced to 220 years in jail for child sex abuse material

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A former Jacksonville Jaguars employee was sentenced to 220 years in prison for producing child sexual abuse material and hacking the jumbotron at the team's stadium.

The team hired Samuel Thompson, of St. Augustine, in 2013 as a contractor to consult on the design and installation of their new video board network and later to operate the jumbotron on gamedays, investigators said. 

However, after learning in 2018 that he was a registered sex offender and had a prior conviction, they did not renew his contract. According to court records, Thompson was convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Alabama in 1998.

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A general view of the Jacksonville Jaguars statue in front TIAA Bank Field prior to the AFC Wild Card Playoffs game against the Los Angeles Chargers at TIAA Bank Field on Jan. 14, 2023 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)

Thompson is said to have installed remote access software on a spare server in the Jaguars’ server room before his employment ended in March 2018. He was then able to access the computers that controlled the jumobtron during three games in the following season, causing the video boards to malfunction repeatedly.

The Jaguars eventually found the spare server, removed its access to the jumbotron, and was able to collect network information, which the FBI traced to Thompson’s home, prosecutors said.

Jacksonville Jaguars helmets are seen before a press conference introducing Doug Pederson as the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Stadium on Feb. 5, 2022 in Jacksonville, Florida. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)

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