Modesto Man Sentenced to 37.5 Years in Prison for Sexual Exploitation of Minors

FRESNO, Calif. - Jacob Jacobsen, 31, of Modesto, was sentenced today to 37.5 years in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, for the sexual exploitation of minors and receipt of child sexual abuse images. Jacobsen will also be required to pay special assessments of $25,000 and to forfeit devices used in committing the crimes, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant Announced.

According to court documents, the mother of a 13-year-old girl in Memphis, TN, informed law enforcement that someone, later identified as Jacobsen, had been communicating with the minor through Snapchat. Investigators executed numerous search warrants and discovered that Jacobsen had contacted dozens of minor females while using the Snapchat screen names "trippinj" and "treydawgg2000." Jacobsen often purported to be 16 or 17 years old when communicating with the victims and soliciting sexually explicit photographs and videos. Jacobsen admitted to investigators that he had been obtaining sexually explicit images of minor females for more than five years prior to his arrest.

"Jacobsen preyed upon some of the most vulnerable members of our society for years. Now, thanks to the quick thinking of a Tennessee mother, and the swift and decisive action of our law enforcement partners and prosecution team, this significant sentence will ensure the public is protected from this child sexual predator for decades to come," said U.S. Attorney Eric Grant.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Memphis Police Department and the Memphis and Ripon FBI Offices, with assistance from the FBI's Exploited Child Operational Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa prosecuted the case.

This case was 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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.