Chesapeake Man Sentenced to 31 Years for Sexually Abusing Child

NORFOLK, Va. – A Chesapeake man was sentenced today to 380 months in prison for sexually abusing a child.

“Child sexual abuse is heinous and causes incalculable and unknowable harm to survivors,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Sadly, this horrendous crime is likely to have personal and public reverberations for years to come. I want to thank and applaud our law enforcement partners and prosecutors for ensuring that this defendant will now be in a place where he cannot sexually abuse minors.”

According to court documents, in July or August of 2017, Jacob Earl Gilmore, 38, sexually abused a minor girl at St. Julian’s Creek Annex, a controlled Naval Facility and Gillmore’s place of work. During a weekend in July or August, Gillmore secreted the child onto the installation in the trunk of his car. Once on the installation, brought the child to his office and sexually abused her multiple times. During their investigation, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) learned that Gillmore had been escorting the girl on to St. Julian’s Creek Annex for years.

“This sentencing should serve as a warning that child sexual predators will always be exposed and rooted out,” said Gregory Scovel, NCIS Special Agent in Charge of the Norfolk Field Office. “NCIS remains committed to fully investigating all criminal threats to communities where our Department of the Navy family live and work.”

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 U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Gregory Scovel, Special Agent in Charge of NCIS Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Heck prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:19-cr-114.