Oakland Man Charged With Production Of Child Pornography

OAKLAND –D’mar Dwain Jennings Conway appeared in court today and was arraigned on charges he produced and possessed child pornography, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Spradlin. The appearance follows an indictment handed down by a federal grand jury yesterday and a complaint and affidavit filed May 26, 2016.

Conway, 28, is a resident of Oakland.  According to the indictment and complaint, during a search of Conway’s Fruitvale neighborhood residence, HSI agents seized a video camera and a digital storage card for the video camera.  On the storage card, agents found numerous digital images that allegedly show Conway abusing a young boy between the ages of 3 and 6 years old by engaging in various sex acts with him in Conway’s residence.  In the indictment, Conway is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of children, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2251(a) and (e); and one count of possession and access with intent to view child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2252(a) and (b).  The indictment alleges Conway abused the child between the years of 2007 and 2010.

Conway was arrested on May 26, 2016, and made his initial appearance in federal court on the federal complaint on May 27, 2016. He was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshal on May 26, 2016, and remains in custody.  The defendant’s next scheduled appearance is at 1:00 p.m. on July 19, 2016, before the Honorable Jeffrey S. White, U.S. District Judge.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 2251, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 15 years, a maximum sentence of 30 years, and a fine of $250,000 plus restitution, if appropriate.  If convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4), the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years, a fine of $250,000, plus restitution, if appropriate.  Additional fines and a term of supervised release also may be imposed, however, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Denise Marie Barton and Brian Lewis are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Trina Khadoo.  The prosecution is the result of an ongoing investigation by the United States Department of Homeland Security. 

If members of the public have any information relevant to this investigation or to suspected child predators or suspicious activity, HSI encourages them to contact HSI through the toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form at https://www.ice.gov/webform/hsi-tip-form.  Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.  Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may also be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.