CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 29-year-old Corpus Christi man has been ordered to prison following his two convictions of sexual exploitation of a child, otherwise known as production of child pornography, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. Mark Hamauei pleaded guilty Jan. 6, 2017, admitting he took sexually explicit videos of both a 13 and 14-year-old victim.
He was sentenced to 210 months on each count to run concurrently. 10 years of supervised release in each count and $1,229.08 in restitution.
Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos sentenced Hamauei to a total of 210 months in federal prison on each count to run concurrently. The sentence will be immediately by 10 years of supervised release during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the Internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender and pay $1229 in restitution.
At today’s hearing, the court also heard testimony from one of the victims. She described to the court the impact the crime has had on her life and that of her family.
Hamauei came to the attention of law enforcement after identifying two young females who had been sexually assaulted. Law enforcement later executed a search warrant at Hamauei’s residence and seized various electronic devices which led to the discovery of two videos of the two girls being sexually assaulted. Hamauei’s hands were compared and matched to the hand of the person filming the video. Authorities also discovered 239 videos and more than 1,400 other images of child pornography. At the hearing today, the court heard that many of these images depicted sadistic or masochistic conduct including bondage of children as young as toddlers.
Hamauei was arrested on the federal charges in October 2016 and has been in custody since that time where he will remain pending his transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Corpus Christi Police Department – Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugo R. Martinez, was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visitwww.usdoj.gov/psc.For more information about internet safety education, please visitwww.usdoj.gov/pscand click on the tab "resources."