SLIDELL, La. — A Slidell man was sentenced to 175 years in prison Friday for producing child pornography and other crimes involving minors, the St. Tammany District Attorney said.
David Allen Hammond Jr., 40, was sentenced for 28 counts, including 19 counts of production of pornography involving juveniles, 5 counts of possession of pornography involving juveniles under 13, one count of distribution of pornography involving juveniles, sexual battery of a victim under 13, aggravated crime against nature and obstruction of justice.
“I usually don’t take pleasure in sentencing people to jail,” said William Knight, the judge presiding over the sentencing. “But guess what? Today I’m going to make an exception.”
He was sentenced the day after a jury found him guilty.
The investigation began when a deputy from the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office was called out to investigate a possible missing juvenile who 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, according to a statement from the district attorney. The officer, who testified during trial, said the girl informed him that Hammond had raped her, videotaped the act and taken other pictures and videos of her.
When investigators searched Hammond’s home, they found more than 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, investigators found.
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.
Hammond was arrested on Sept. 29, 2017.
After his arrest, 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, unnamed because of her age, 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.”
Ed. Note: A previous version of this story contained incorrect information from the St. Tammany Parish District Attorney's Office saying Hammond had been charged with 50 counts and the victim who started the investigation was 16. He was charged with 28 counts and she was 14. This article has been updated to reflect the new information.
