A Long Beach, Mississippi man has been sentenced to 110 years in federal prison for producing images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Jason Leonard Rhodes, 47, will also serve a lifetime of supervised release following his prison term.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Gulfport began investigating Rhodes in February 2023 after receiving information that he had sexual contact with three minor boys. Working with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, Cybercrime Division, authorities executed a search warrant at Rhodes’s residence on February 8, 2023.
During the search, investigators found electronic devices belonging to Rhodes. A forensic analysis by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office revealed videos showing Rhodes performing oral sex on three minor boys, with at least one victim as young as five years old. The analysis also uncovered chats in which Rhodes distributed some of these videos to others and possessed additional material depicting children being sexually abused.
Rhodes confessed during the search warrant to recording himself abusing the minors and sending out images and videos of child sexual abuse.
“Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Lemon of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.”
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, Mississippi Attorney General’s Office Cybercrime Division, and Long Beach Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lee Smith, Glenda Haynes, and Andrea Jones prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The program coordinates efforts among federal, state, and local agencies to find and prosecute offenders who exploit children online and to rescue victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
