A former youth pastor from Southern California will likely spend the rest of his life in federal prison after receiving a 40-year sentence for exploiting children online and secretly recording minors through spyware. The case began with a 2025 airport search and widened into a disturbing reckoning over how he gained access to children at a Laguna Hills church.
Jacob Melvin Hart, 46, of San Juan Capistrano, was sentenced in Miami for secretly recording minors and directing children overseas to produce child sexual abuse material, as reported by Local 10. Customs officers found 33 illicit videos on his phone, including material involving girls as young as 10, while investigators also observed roughly 160 AI-generated images and videos depicting nude minors.
A federal court report shows Hart entered a guilty plea in the case after prosecutors accused him of using technology and online contacts to exploit children. The plea cleared the way for the sentence now keeping him behind bars for four decades.
Hart was arrested at Miami International Airport on June 21, 2025, after arriving from Haiti on a Christian mission trip, according to earlier Local 10 reporting. Authorities said he had previously been convicted in Oregon after placing a hidden camera in a girls’ bathroom and shower at a Christian camp.
How Hart Reached Children At A Laguna Hills Church
Prosecutors said Hart later worked as an information technology consultant at Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills, where he provided laptops equipped with spyware to several children and remotely activated their cameras without their knowledge. The Orange County Register reported that civil lawsuits accuse church officials of knowing about Hart’s Oregon conviction when he was hired.
The civil allegations are separate from the federal criminal case, but they underscore how the investigation moved beyond the files found at the airport. Prosecutors said Hart secretly recorded at least eight minor victims and possessed sexually explicit depictions of those children.
Restitution Hearing Set For September
A judge described the scope of Hart’s conduct as “extraordinary,” while U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quinones said the sentence means Hart will likely spend the rest of his life in federal prison, Local 10 reported. A restitution hearing is scheduled for Sept. 1 in Miami federal court.
The criminal sentence closes one chapter, but the civil claims involving Crossline Community Church remain a separate legal matter. For families who trusted Hart with technology and access to children, the case is a stark reminder that a digital trail can expose conduct that remained hidden for years.
