Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison on a Child Pornography Charge

PROVIDENCE –  A registered sex offender was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison today, having previously pled guilty to a charge of possession with intent to view child pornography, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

Prior to his arrest in April 2024 in this matter, David Hamlin, 43, of Cranston, was charged in Rhode Island state court in 2016 and 2018 on child pornography violations, and in 2018 pleaded guilty to transporting child pornography.

According to information presented to the court in this matter, in March 2024, local FBI agents received information from their Tampa, FL, counterparts that a cellphone registered to Hamlin was being used to access an online platform on which child sexual abuse material (CSAM) was being transferred to an undercover FBI employee.

In April 2024, pursuant to a court-authorized search warrant, two cell phones were seized from Hamlin. Forensic analysis of the phones identified multiple images and videos containing CSAM.

At sentencing today, U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy sentenced Hamlin to 120 months of incarceration to be followed by 10 years of federal supervised release.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julianne Klein.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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