James Ray Nichols, a 32-year-old from Louisville, Kentucky, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for distributing child sexual abuse material. Following his imprisonment, Nichols will undergo 25 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender. This sentencing comes after Nichols pleaded guilty to the charges.
Court records indicate that starting in January 2024, Nichols engaged in explicit conversations using a social networking app with an undercover officer posing as a mother of two young children. Between January and July 2024, he distributed several videos of child sexual abuse material to this undercover officer.
On July 17, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents conducted a search at Nichols' residence in Kentucky. They discovered a phone containing a significant amount of exploitative material. Following his arrest, Nichols was transferred to the Southern District of Florida.
Nichols agreed to pay $10,000 in restitution to the victims featured in the material he distributed. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, HSI Miami Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury, and Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw.
The case was investigated by HSI West Palm Beach and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (PBSO). Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Schiller is handling the prosecution.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child exploitation and abuse online. The project aims to locate and prosecute individuals who exploit children through digital means while identifying and rescuing victims.
For more information on Project Safe Childhood or to report incidents involving child pornography, resources are available at www.projectsafechildhood.gov or by calling (877) 447-4847.
Further details about this case can be found on the websites of both the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the District Court for the Southern District of Florida under case number 24-cr-80093.