Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge William F. Jung has sentenced James Matthew Oxley (53, Polk City) to 30 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for transporting child sexual abuse material. Oxley was also sentenced to 20 years, to run concurrently with the 30-year sentence, for possession of child sexual abuse material and possession of obscene visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The court also ordered Oxley to forfeit a cellphone used in the commission of the offense, pay $18,000 in restitution to victims, and register as a sex offender. Oxley pleaded guilty in September 2025.
According to court documents, on December 17, 2024, Oxley left the Tampa seaport onboard a cruise ship. The ship traveled to two destinations in Mexico before returning to Tampa. On December 22, 2024, upon disembarking in Tampa, all individuals aboard the ship went through U.S. Customs. Oxley was referred for a secondary inspection. During the secondary inspection, agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection discovered suspected child sex abuse material on Oxley’s cellphone. The agents observed images and videos involving the sexual abuse of minors, including children under 12 years of age. Oxley also possessed AI-generated images that appeared to depict minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Oxley is a registered sex offender who was previously convicted in 2012 of three counts of possessing images showing the sexual performance by a child, in violation of Florida state laws.
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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc .
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilyssa M. Spergel.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Middle District of Florida — U.S. Department of Justice press release.