Former Newtown resident Donald S. Hammalian, 50, has been charged with child exploitation offenses, according to a federal indictment returned on April 10, 2025. Hammalian appeared before U.S. District Judge Robert A. Richardson in Hartford and pleaded not guilty to the charges. He has been detained on a violation of supervised release since November 16, 2023.
Hammalian was previously sentenced in the Middle District of Florida to 48 months of imprisonment and 20 years of supervised release for possession of child pornography in January 2010. In 2015, his supervision was transferred to the District of Vermont after he moved from Florida following his release from prison. In June 2018, Hammalian pleaded guilty to violating his supervised release by again possessing child pornography and was sentenced to 72 months of imprisonment and 20 years of supervised release. He was released from prison in May 2020 after a federal judge in Vermont reduced his sentence to time served.
On November 13, 2023, the U.S. Probation Office searched Hammalian’s residence and found five unapproved internet-capable devices, including three smartphones and two tablets, two of which contained child sex abuse material. The investigation revealed that Hammalian was managing about a dozen social media accounts and had more than 100,000 followers, and he was using the accounts to communicate with minors, sometimes posing as a 16-year-old boy.
The indictment alleges that between July 2022 and November 2023, Hammalian received child pornography. The indictment further alleges that between July 2022 and February 2023, Hammalian enticed a minor to send him child pornography, that he transferred obscene material to a minor, and that he committed these offenses while a registered sex offender.
Hammalian faces four counts of child exploitation offenses, including receipt of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years; coercion and enticement of a minor, which carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life; transfer of obscene material to a minor, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years; and commission of a felony offense involving a minor by a registered sex offender, which carries a mandatory consecutive term of imprisonment of 10 years.
Acting U.S. Attorney Marc H. Silverman stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This investigation is being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angel M. Krull and Nancy V. Gifford through the U.S. government’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.
Related Federal Cases
- Vanessa Grandoit, Sex Trafficking, Massachusetts 2015 · Connecticut
- Christopher Jesus Constanzo, Child Exploitation, Connecticut 2024 · Connecticut
- Nicolas Brown, Child Exploitation, Connecticut 2024 · Connecticut
- James Pagliaro, Child Exploitation, Connecticut 2025 · Connecticut
- Adam M. Simpson, Child Exploitation, Connecticut 2015 · Connecticut
Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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