Some images seized showed Jon A. Hall sexually abusing a young child
BANGOR, Maine — A West Gardiner man was sentenced Nov. 5 in U.S. District Court in Bangor after an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Maine State Police led to charges for transporting, receiving, distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material, as well as failing to register as a sex offender.
Chief U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker sentenced Jon A. Hall (aka L.J. (Little Jon) Hall), 30, to a total of 600 months in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution. Hall pleaded guilty on April 26.
According to court records, on Aug. 29, 2022, Maine State Police investigators executed a search warrant in West Gardiner on Hall’s person. In the search, they seized an iPhone belonging to Hall, and child sexual abuse material was recovered from that phone. Some of the images and video files depicted Hall sexually abusing a young child while earlier living in another state. The phone also included messages with a person in Maine while Hall was out of state. In many of those messages, Hall inquired about obtaining nude images of underage children and sent the user child sexual abuse material. There was also evidence of Hall receiving payments for the images via Cash App. The images were of victims under the age of 12 and included images Hall had solicited and received from boys he knew or met online.
“Hall was a repeat offender who not only possessed and traded in child sexual abuse material, but directly abused and exploited children. His previous conviction shows he is clearly a danger to the community and today’s significant sentence will keep him away from children for a very long time,” said HSI New England Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol. “With the conclusion of this case, we hope those he victimized can find some amount of closure and peace as they move forward.”
“Mr. Hall has a lengthy and troubling history that makes it clear that children are in danger as long as he is free,” said U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee. “Any sentence, no matter how lengthy, can only go so far in providing justice for such heinous acts inflicted upon children, but I hope it provides comfort to all he victimized. My office will continue to prioritize child exploitation prosecutions to protect Maine children from predators like Mr. Hall.”
Hall pleaded guilty to and was convicted of two counts of possessing sexually explicit material depicting a child under 12 in April 2015 and was notified of the requirement as a Tier III lifetime registrant of the sex offender registry to maintain current registration information.
HSI New England’s Bangor Resident Agent in Charge office and the Maine State Police investigated the case.
HSI is a global leader in the fight against child exploitation. Last year, HSI special agents dedicated 1.2 million case hours toward investigating child exploitation. This heinous crime harms the most vulnerable in our society: our kids. As technology evolves and more people have access to the internet, children are at a greater risk than ever. HSI’s special agents and analysts around the world are dedicated to countering this threat.
Report suspected child exploitation to the HSI Tip Line at 877-4-HSI-TIP or through the CyberTipline on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's website.