A Howell man and former youth soccer coach has been charged with sexually exploiting a 6-year-old girl and possessing and receiving child pornography, according to the FBI.
Jacob Sampson was arrested in late July after the FBI received a tip that he was receiving and distributing child pornography using the messaging application Kik, FBI Agent Adam Christensen wrote in a charging affidavit.
When the FBI executed a search warrant July 21, Sampson was there with his wife and three young children, Christensen wrote. He told the FBI he first saw child pornography in 2017 and had last viewed it the night before and said he used to save child porn and had uploaded the files to Dropbox.
On July 24 Christensen interviewed the father of a 6-year-old girl who said his daughter had disclosed that Sampson sexually abused her by touching her vagina when she stayed at his house the week prior, Christensen wrote in the affidavit. On his phone, the FBI found a video and photo of the girl’s genitals.
Sampson was a soccer coach for the Howell Area Parks and Recreation Authority from 2023 to 2025, according to the Livingston Daily.
In its statement, Howell Area Parks and Recreation Authority said the organization’s background check process —— which is run on volunteers every two years — came up clean for Sampson. It said it hasn’t received complaints from patrons, parents or children about inappropriate behavior from Sampson.
Sampson is set to be arraigned Aug. 11.
kberg@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Former Howell soccer coach charged with child porn, exploiting child
Reporting by Kara Berg, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kara Berg, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
