Homosassa Man Indicted For Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material

Ocala, FL - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging John Hill (40, Homosassa) with possession of child sexual abuse material. If convicted, Hill faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

According to court documents, in February 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received nine cyber tips from a cloud-based storage provider that Hill was involved in the possession of child sex abuse material (CSAM). Search warrants were executed on the storage provider, which revealed multiple images of CSAM had been uploaded to the cloud-based storage from Hill's cellphone. On September 17, 2024, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Hill's residence and seized his cellphone. The subsequent examination of Hill's cellphone revealed multiple images of CSAM involving children as young as six to eight years old.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Citrus County Sheriff's Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Belkis H. Callaos.

This is another case 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.justice.gov/psc.