Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – James Harold Major, a 21-year-old, has been sentenced to two decades in state prison, with an additional 10 years of sex offender probation. This follows his plea of nolo contendere to 27 counts of possessing child pornography and one count of illegal use of a two-way communication device.

Originally a student at UF and a Patient Care Assistant at UF Health, Major was taken into custody in October 2024 after the Gainesville Police Department pursued a CyberTip related to child sexual abuse content on a Google Drive account.

On August 28, Major accepted a plea deal, acknowledging all charges which could have led to a maximum sentence of 839.3 years. Judge James Colaw handed down his sentence, which includes five sentences of 15 years in prison to be served concurrently, followed by 11 concurrent sentences of 5 years each, and then 11 concurrent 10-year sentences of sexual offender probation. His five-year prison term for unlawful use of a two-way communication device will run concurrently with the 10-year term, and he will be legally classified as a Sexual Offender.