Jacques Jackson has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for raping three teenage girls he met through Instagram. The sentencing was announced by U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr., and includes a subsequent 10-year period of supervised release.
“Our community is safer today because law enforcement agencies from around the country collaborated to put an irrepressible sexual predator in prison for a quarter century,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “This case is an important reminder that social media is often an abuser’s preferred means to manipulate, exploit, and victimize unsuspecting children. I urge parents to monitor their kids’ online activity vigilantly.”
“Jacques Jackson’s actions were reprehensible and justice was served,” said Peter Ellis, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “This predator exploited social media to devastate vulnerable minors, and we will not tolerate such abuse. The FBI, in partnership with local law enforcement, will relentlessly pursue those who prey on our children.”
According to information presented in court, law enforcement first encountered Jackson in Decatur, Georgia in August 2018 when DeKalb County police officers rescued one of his victims, a 15-year-old girl. Jackson had met the minor on Instagram and coerced her into meeting him out of state using blackmail tactics. He assaulted her physically and destroyed her cell phone before engaging in sexual acts with her multiple times despite knowing she was underage.
Jackson was initially arrested but released on bond after about six months. In October 2021, Elberton Police received a report about another missing 15-year-old girl who had communicated with Jackson using her brother’s phone. Investigators found sexually explicit exchanges between them and learned that Jackson arranged transportation for the minor so they could meet at a motel where he engaged in sex with her multiple times.
In June 2022, the FBI tracked down Jackson as he traveled west from Atlanta on a Greyhound bus and arrested him at a bus station in Big Spring, Texas. At the time of arrest, he possessed a firearm and $3,500 cash and was accompanied by another runaway child who disclosed she had also met Jackson via Instagram.
Further investigation linked Jackson to an unsolved rape case from July 2015 involving another 15-year-old girl; DNA evidence matched samples taken from him after his initial arrest.
On May 8, 2025, Jackson pleaded guilty to one count of interstate transportation of a minor for unlawful sex and two counts of enticing minors for unlawful sex acts.
The case involved cooperation among several agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; police departments from DeKalb County (GA), Baton Rouge (LA), Big Spring (TX), Elberton (GA); as well as the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex R. Sistla and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Annalise K. Peters prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia serves as the main federal law enforcement agency across north Georgia—including Atlanta—handling criminal prosecutions like this one while collaborating with other agencies nationwide official website. The office prioritizes cases involving threats such as human trafficking and civil rights violations official website, enforcing federal laws while representing the United States in civil matters official website. Led by Theodore S. Hertzberg official website, it covers millions of residents throughout northern Georgia’s diverse regions official website.
