Oakland man charged with production of child pornography

OAKLAND, Calif. – An Oakland man made his initial appearance in court Friday following his indictment on charges of production and possession of child pornography, which resulted from a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

D’mar Dwain Jennings Conway Conway, 28, was indicted Thursday based on a criminal complaint originally filed last month. According to court documents, during a search of Conway’s Fruitvale neighborhood residence HSI special agents seized a video camera and a digital storage card for that device. On the storage card, investigators found numerous digital images allegedly showing Conway at his residence engaging in various sex acts with a boy believed to be between 3 and 6 years of age. The sexual abuse allegedly occurred between 2007 and 2010.

The indictment charges Conway with one count of child sexual exploitation and one count of possession of child pornography. If convicted of the two counts, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of up to 50 years in prison.

Conway was arrested May 26 based on the criminal complaint. He has remained in federal custody since that time. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Denise Marie Barton and Brian Lewis, aided by Trina Khadoo.

Members of the public who have any information that may be relevant to this investigation are encouraged to contact HSI’s toll-free tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing an online 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.

This case is a product of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, and HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators.

Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.