Quebec Man Jailed for CSAM

⏱ 3 min read

Anthony Hamel, 25, of Cowansville, Quebec, will spend the next two years in federal prison after customs agents found a sickening trove of child pornography on his phone. Hamel tried to cross into the US at the Morses Line Port of Entry on May 9, 2025, claiming he was meeting an 18-year-old he’d been chatting with online. Instead, he got a search, and a sentence handed down March 17, 2026, by Judge Mary Kay Lanthier.

Customs and Border Protection officers weren’t buying his story. A secondary inspection of Hamel’s phone turned up 268 videos and 33 images of child sexual abuse material. The content wasn’t just disturbing—investigators found depictions of toddlers, infants, and prepubescent children subjected to horrific acts, some involving bondage and sadism. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) quickly joined the investigation.

A federal warrant authorized a full forensic search of the phone. The evidence was damning. HSI agents confirmed the existence of the CSAM and interviewed Hamel, but that couldn’t erase the digital fingerprints of his crimes. The material was sickening and clearly illegal.

Hamel pleaded guilty to possession of CSAM involving a minor under 12. He’ll serve 24 months behind bars, followed by five years of supervised release. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Ophardt praised the CBP and HSI for their work stopping this predator at the border.