Southern Oregon Sex Offender Sentenced to 37 Years in Federal Prison for Producing Child Pornography

MEDFORD, OR—On Monday, March 17, 2014, Senior U.S. District Judge Owen M. Panner sentenced Christopher Keith Hammer, 43, of Central Point, Oregon, to 37 years in federal prison for production of child pornography.

In February 2013, a nationwide FBI child pornography investigation revealed that sexually explicit photos of a 4-year-old child were being distributed from an e-mail account linked to Hammer’s residence. The Southern Oregon High Tech Crimes Task Force (SOHTCTF) executed a search warrant at Hammer’s residence, identified the child, and matched the clothing and furniture depicted in the sexually explicit photos. Hammer was arrested immediately. Hammer’s e-mail account contained several thousand images of child pornography, along with dozens of photos of the 4-year-old child in sexually explicit poses, which Hammer took over the course of a year. Hammer e-mailed the photos to several other child molesters he met online and described his ongoing sexual abuse of the child and his plans to take photos and videos of the sexual abuse. Hammer also indicated a desire to sexually abuse other children and encouraged other child molesters to sexually abuse their own children and send photos of the abuse to Hammer.

Hammer has two previous felony convictions in California for lewd and lascivious acts upon a child under 14 in 1994, in which he sexually abused his 6-year-old and 8-year-old relatives. Under federal law, any person who produces child pornography after two previous felony convictions for child sex abuse faces a mandatory minimum of 35 years in prison.

“These pictures represent the worst type of child sex offender—one who not only sexually exploits children, but also documents and shares his experiences with others, and encourages others to do the same,” said U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall. “The severe penalties imposed by federal law are well deserved and necessary to protect our most vulnerable victims—children.”

This case was investigated by the SOHTCTF, a multi-jurisdictional computer crimes task force composed of the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Central Point Police Department, Medford Police Department, Ashland Police Department, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, and the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office, and it was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas W. Fong.