Richmond Man Pleads Guilty To Possession Of Child Pornography

OAKLAND– Dumaka Hammond pleaded guilty today to possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett.  The guilty plea follows a federal grand jury indictment issued on March 10, 2016.

Hammond, 40, is a resident of Richmond, Calif.  According to his plea agreement, Hammond admitted using an internet tool known as Tor to access and download child pornography.  Hammond acknowledged that some of the images he downloaded depicted sadistic or masochistic content and some images and videos involved prepubescent children.  Additionally, Hammond acknowledged that law enforcement found and removed from his home a laptop computer that contained more than 300 child pornographic images.   

Hammond was charged with one count of possession of child pornography and access with intent to view child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2252(a) and (b).  Pursuant to the plea agreement, Hammond pleaded guilty to the single count in the indictment.

The plea colloquy was conducted by the Honorable James Donato, U.S. District Judge.  Judge Donato has scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 24, 2017, at 10:30 a.m., in San Francisco.  The maximum statutory sentence for violating 18 U.S.C. § 2252 is a 20-year prison term.  Additional fines, victim restitution, and a term of supervised release also may be imposed by Judge Donato.  However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Green is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Trina Khadoo.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI. 

If members of the public have any information relevant to this investigation or to suspected child predators or suspicious activity, they should contact Homeland Security Investigations through the toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or complete the online tip form at: https://www.ice.gov/webform/hsi-tip-form.  Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.  Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may also be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.