JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville man and former UF Health employee, Columbus Donavan Jeffrey has been sentenced to 60 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to two counts of producing and distributing images depicting himself as he sexually abused an 11-year-old child.
Jeffrey was also ordered to serve a lifetime term of supervised release, register as a sex offender, and pay $24,000 in restitution to child victims.
According to court documents, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received information from Tumblr that a user, named “hideme1977,” later identified as Jeffrey, uploaded several pornographic images to the platform.
These photos were taken by Jeffrey showing him sexually abusing an 11-year-old child. JSO detectives were also able to identify and locate the child shown in the photos, who stated that Jeffrey had sexually abused the child on at least three separate occasions in 2019.
JSO conducted a forensic examination of Jeffrey’s cellphone which revealed images of the same child being sexually abused by Jeffrey on two other dates in 2019. It also showed online messages Jeffrey used the internet to share the sexual assault photos with others and that Jeffrey maintained a collection of 635 images and 57 videos depicting the sexual abuse of other minors.
Jeffrey was arrested by JSO on October 3, 2019. At the time of his arrest, he was working with UF Health in the Psychiatry Department. The arrest report at the time stated that Jeffrey was HIV-positive.
“Predators who exploit innocent children are among the most evil criminals in society, and the acts committed by this defendant are among the most egregious that we have investigated.” said Rachel L. Rojas, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division. “This case proves that the FBI Jacksonville Division is fully committed to holding child predators accountable for their actions, and we remain dedicated to ensuring that criminals like him cannot bring harm to the most vulnerable members of our communities ever again. We are thankful for the partnership of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in the relentless effort to seek justice for these victims. Be assured our work will not end here.”
This case is 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 Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc
Cox Media Group
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