Michael Francis Hamer, Child Pornography, Minnesota 2023

MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 192 months in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for receipt, distribution, and access with intent to view child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

Michael Francis Hamer, 56, knowingly and frequently obtained, distributed, and accessed child pornography online between August 2020 and January 2022, according to court documents and trial evidence. Hamer used social media platforms like Facebook and Gmail to directly message self-identified minor victims, some as young as 11 years old, to request and distribute images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of minors.

Hamer also joined Facebook Messenger group chats with disturbing names, including “Boys sex video,” “Kids Video Sex,” and “#Good Boy?,” to solicit and access child sexual abuse images. This is not the first time Hamer has been convicted of a sex-related crime – he was previously convicted in Minnesota state court for solicitation of a child to engage in sexual conduct and was required to register as a predatory offender with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Additionally, Hamer admitted to possessing child pornography during his 2012 conviction. His latest conviction by a federal jury on December 7, 2023, includes one count of receipt of child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography, and two counts of access with intent to view child pornography.

Hamer was sentenced today in U.S. District Court before Judge Katherine M. Menendez, who described Hamer’s conduct as “relentless behavior” and noted the long-term damage to the victims depicted in the child sexual abuse material.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, with assistance from the Minneapolis Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. It was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hillary A. Taylor, Emily A. Polachek, and Chelsea A. Walcker prosecuted the case.

Related Federal Cases