Evergreen Reporter

Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), have announced that a federal grand jury in Hartford has indicted Donald S. Hammalian, Jr., 50, last residing in Newtown, Connecticut, with child exploitation offenses.

Hammalian's indictment was filed on April 10, 2025. He appeared before U.S. District Judge Robert A. Richardson in Hartford, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges. Hammalian has been in detention since November 16, 2023, for violating supervised release.

Court documents reveal Hammalian's previous conviction in January 2010 in the Middle District of Florida, where he received a 48-month prison term and 20 years of supervised release for possessing child pornography. After his release, his supervision was transferred to the District of Vermont. In June 2018, he admitted to breaching supervised release terms by possessing child pornography again, leading to a 72-month prison sentence and continued supervision. His sentence was reduced to time served during the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, and he was released.

On November 13, 2023, the U.S. Probation Office searched Hammalian's residence, discovering five unauthorized internet-capable devices containing child sex abuse materials. Investigations indicated Hammalian was managing numerous social media accounts, posing sometimes as a 16-year-old boy, and engaging with minors.

The indictment claims Hammalian received child pornography between July 2022 and November 2023. It further alleges he enticed a minor to send child pornography, transferred obscene material to a minor, and committed these acts as a registered sex offender during July 2022 to February 2023.

Hammalian faces several charges: receipt of child pornography, coercion and enticement of a minor, transfer of obscene material to a minor, and committing a felony offense as a registered sex offender. The penalties range from minimum imprisonment terms of 10 to 15 years to potential life sentences, subject to his criminal history and supervised release conditions.

Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman reminded the public that an indictment is only an allegation, not proof of guilt. The defendant is innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is being handled by HSI, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angel M. Krull and Nancy V. Gifford prosecuting, under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which combats child sexual abuse and exploitation.

For further details on Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc. To report child exploitation, visit www.cybertipline.com.