MEDFORD, Ore.—A Medford man previously convicted of child rape was sentenced today to more than 13 years in federal prison for possessing 4,500 photos and videos depicting child sexual abuse, including including infants and toddlers.
Jacob Lee Holt, 46, was sentenced to 162 months in federal prison and supervised release for life.
According to court documents, Kik Messenger, a mobile instant messaging app, reported that one of its users had shared child sexual abuse material. Special agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) traced the Kik account to Holt and determined that some of the images he shared depicted child victims previously identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
In March 2018, investigators served a federal search warrant at Holt’s residence in Medford. They located and seized six digital devices, three of which were later found to contain thousands of images and videos depicting child sexual abuse. Holt’s illicit collection included violent graphic images involving infants, toddlers, sadomasochistic conduct, and bestiality.
On March 30, 2020, Holt was charged in a criminal complaint with receipt and possession of child pornography. Later, on August 20, 2020, a federal grand jury in Medford indicted him on the same charges. On November 24, 2020, Holt pleaded guilty.
In 2001, when he was 24, Holt raped a 13-year-old girl at a party. He was convicted in 2007 in Klamath County Circuit Court of second-degree sexual abuse and sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years probation.
This case was investigated by HSI and the Southern Oregon High Tech Crimes Task Force with assistance from the Medford Police Department and the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office. He was prosecuted by Judi Harper, Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Anyone with information about physical abuse or online exploitation of children is encouraged to contact HSI at (866) 347-2423 or submit a report online at report.cybertip.org.
Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. It is important to remember that child sexual exploitation material depicts actual crimes committed against children. Not only do these images and videos document the exploitation and abuse of victims, but when shared on the internet, they re-victimize and re-traumatize child victims each time their abuse is seen. For more information, please visit the NCMEC website at www.missingkids.org.
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. For more information about the Safe Childhood Project, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Established in January 2007, the Southern Oregon High-Tech Crimes Task Force provides cybercrime investigations and forensic analysis of digital evidence to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies across the country. southern Oregon. Member agencies include the Medford Police Department, Oregon State Police, Jackson County Sheriff’s and District Attorney’s Offices, and HSI.
