A Long Beach, Mississippi resident, Jason Leonard Rhodes, entered a guilty plea to three counts of producing images and videos of minors involved in sexually explicit conduct and one count related to distributing such material. The admission came today in Gulfport, Mississippi.
Court documents reveal that the investigation started in February 2023 when the Federal Bureau of Investigation, based in Gulfport, discovered Rhodes, 47, had engaged in sexual activities with three minor boys. Consequently, the FBI and the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, Cybercrime Division executed a search warrant at Rhodes' residence on February 8, 2023.
The search unearthed various electronic devices belonging to Rhodes. A forensic analysis conducted by a forensic examiner from the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office found videos showing Rhodes involved in sexually explicit acts with minors. Alongside, there were chat records indicating Rhodes distributed videos of child sexual abuse to others.
Rhodes confessed during the search, admitting to recording himself in explicit activities with the minors and distributing images and videos of child abuse.
Scheduled for sentencing on August 26, 2025, Rhodes faces up to thirty years in prison for each count of producing explicit images of minors and up to twenty years for distributing such materials. The ultimate sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge, considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory elements.
The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Lemon of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff of the FBI. The investigation was a collaborative effort involving the FBI, Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, Cybercrime Division, and the Long Beach Police Department, while the case is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lee Smith, Glenda Haynes, and Andrea Jones.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice aiming to curb child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project pools federal, state, and local resources to apprehend and prosecute offenders exploiting children through the internet while focusing on victim identification and rescue.
For detailed information on Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.