Missouri man sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for producing child pornography, enticing minor for sex

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Missouri man, who crashed his car while fleeing from his victim's mother, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday for producing child pornography and enticing a minor for illicit sex. The sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by the following agencies: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations; the Sheriff's Offices of Polk County and Camden County, Missouri; and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.

Adam Hammond, 22, of Climax Springs, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard E. Dorr in the Western District of Missouri to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Hammond to pay $1,766 in restitution to his victim.

Hammond pleaded guilty on Nov. 3 to using a minor to produce child pornography. He also admitted to using the Internet and a cell phone to attempt to entice a minor to engage in illicit sex between Oct. 31 and Dec. 29, 2010.

Hammond met the victim when she was 11 years old through a social network site on the Internet and persuaded her to send him sexually explicit images of herself. On Dec. 29, 2010, Hammond traveled to her home and picked her up. When the victim's mother saw her leaving, she pursued them in her vehicle. Hammond lost control of his vehicle during the chase and crashed. The victim's mother then took the keys from Hammond's ignition. Police officers arrived soon afterward and arrested Hammond.

Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher, Western District of Missouri, prosecuted the case.

This investigation is part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline 1-866-DHS-2ICE and its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.