Central State Prison Inmate Admits Having Child Sexual Abuse Material on Altered JPay Tablet

MACON, Ga. – A former Central State Prison inmate already serving a state sentence for attempted child molestation has pleaded guilty to a federal charge after investigators found thousands of child sexual abuse material files on an altered JPay tablet inside the Macon prison.

Timothy Jock Knight, 45, pleaded guilty Sept. 3 to one count of possession of child pornography before U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell.

Knight faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to 20 years in federal prison, followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 1.

According to federal court records, the investigation began with a 2021 CyberTip generated by Instagram and provided to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Instagram reported that an account using the name “timknight444” had uploaded two images depicting child sexual abuse material.

Information associated with the tip included Knight’s profile photograph and driver’s license, according to prosecutors.

Investigators determined Knight was incarcerated at Central State Prison while serving a sentence for attempted child molestation from Columbia County Superior Court. His state release had been scheduled for January 2027.

The GBI obtained a search warrant for Knight’s Instagram account and investigated two JPay tablets at the prison.

One altered tablet was recovered from Knight’s locker but did not contain child sexual abuse material. Investigators confiscated a second altered tablet from Knight and found child sexual abuse material stored on the device, according to prosecutors.

A forensic examination identified 3,410 unique artifacts of child sexual abuse material, including images depicting prepubescent children. Prosecutors said most of the images originated from five video series.

Investigators also found Google search histories on the tablet seeking information related to the abuse, trafficking and rape of children, according to court records.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia Department of Corrections and U.S. Secret Service investigated the case.