FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A federal judge sentenced a former Lauderdale-by-the-Sea commissioner, fire chief and “volunteer Santa” to five years in prison on Wednesday, more than three months after he pleaded guilty to possessing child sexual abuse material.
James Silverstone, now 63, was first arrested by the Broward Sheriff’s Office last July. His case was later moved to federal court.
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U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith ordered that Silverstone surrender to U.S. Marshals on June 28. He will serve time at “the first available facility in Florida” that has a residential drug abuse treatment program.
An arrest warrant filed in Broward County court on July 12, 2023, prior to Silverstone’s arrest, alleged that the ex-official had been sharing child sexual abuse material on a peer-to-peer sharing site. A BSO detective wrote that authorities found 93,921 images and videos on Silverstone’s computer, “only a small portion” of which they were able to review.
Deputies said of that small portion, they identified more than 1,500 files of child sexual abuse material and provided graphic descriptions of child rape and abuse depicted in 10 of the files.
Authorities alleged that during that interview, Silverstone admitted to using BitTorrent to download “movies of all sorts.”
“Silverstone stated he searches for everything the internet has to offer as he is curious about everything/anything and downloads anything/everything for learning purposes,” the warrant states.
The warrant described Silverstone, who served as the seaside town’s fire chief from 2005 to 2007 and a commissioner from 2006 to 2010, as a person considered to be a “trusted” and “respected” member of the community.
The detective was “especially concern(ed)” about Silverstone’s role as Lauderdale-by-the-Sea’s longtime town Santa Claus, which he said Silverstone brought up during a police interview, given that the volunteer position involved interactions with children.
Under the terms of his sentencing, Silverstone will spend 20 years on supervised release once he leaves federal prison.
His supervised release conditions ban him from using a computer for non-employment purposes or having contact with minors. He’ll also not be allowed to “buy, sell, exchange, possess, trade, or produce visual depictions of minors or adults engaged in sexually explicit conduct.”
He will also be required to register as a sex offender and submit to sex offender treatment.
Local 10 News contacted Silverstone’s attorney seeking comment Wednesday evening.