Gainesville man sentenced to 20 years in prison on child pornography charges

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Vern Asa Most, Jr., 24, has been sentenced to 20 years in state prison, followed by sexual offender probation, after entering a plea of nolo contendere to 14 child pornography charges.

Most was arrested in November 2023 after Gainesville Police Department detectives investigated a tip about transmission of child sexual abuse videos. Most originally said someone must have hacked him, including posting a “live” photo of him to multiple Kik chats; he later said he “might have a second personality” because he didn’t remember engaging in chats to exchange or solicit child sexual abuse material.

Most entered a plea of nolo contendere to 10 counts of possession of 10 or more child pornography images or videos, one count of promoting a sexual performance by a minor, one count of unlawful use of a two-way communications device, one count of transmitting harmful content to a minor, and use of a computer to solicit a minor. The maximum sentence for the charges, according to the plea agreement, is 80 years in prison.

Judge James Colaw sentenced him to consecutive 15-year and 5-year sentences (for a total of 20 years with credit for 303 days served), followed by 10 years of sexual offender probation. He will also be designated as a sexual offender.