The case came to light when a deputy for the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office was called out to investigate a possible missing juvenile that had fled Hammond’s residence in September, 2017. The officer found the 14-year-old girl in an abandoned property not far from Hammond’s home. The officer, who testified during trial, said the juvenile informed him that Hammond had sexually abused her, videotaped the act, and taken other pictures and videos of her.
When investigators searched Hammond’s home, they found over 6,000 photos and videos in multiple hard drives, tablets, smart phones, and camera equipment, which all contained child pornography of both the juvenile victim and other children and toddlers. Hammond had also been distributing pictures and video of child pornography to others using the app Flickr. Windows in Hammond’s home were covered by a black film that prevented anyone from looking out or seeing inside and the doors contained deadbolt locks that could only be opened from the inside with a key.
After his arrest on September 29, 2017, Hammond called his wife and sister from prison to have them hide or destroy evidence that was located on a hard drive that he had hidden from police. These calls were recorded and played to the jury during trial.
One of the victims addressed the court before the sentencing. “You kept me from freedom and the world, but I survived you,” she told him.
The grandmother of one of the victims also spoke to the court. “I never hated anyone in my life until I met you,” the woman said. “Her monster is dead to her. She is safe now.”
“I usually don’t take pleasure in sentencing people to jail,” Judge Knight said. “But guess what? Today I’m going to make an exception.”
D.A. Montgomery stated, “I applaud the outstanding work of my two prosecutors and St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office Detective Adam Maillho and his team for bringing this to a successful prosecution”.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.