A Connecticut sex offender has been indicted for allegedly using about a dozen social media accounts to communicate with minors and reportedly enticing a juvenile to send him explicit photos.
Officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut announced Monday that a federal grand jury in Hartford has returned a four-count indictment against Donald S. Hammalian, Jr., 50, whose last known residence was in Newtown.
The indictment, which was returned on April 10, charges Hammalian with receipt of child pornography, coercion and enticement of a minor, transfer of obscene material to a minor and commission of a felony offense involving a minor by a registered sex offending, federal officials said. Based on his prior criminal history, officials said Hammalian could face a minimum of 35 years in prison or a life term if he were convicted on all the charges.
Hammalian appeared Monday in federal court in Hartford where he pleaded not guilty. He has been detained on a violation of supervised release since Nov. 16, 2023, officials said.
Federal authorities said Hammalian was sentenced in the Middle District of Florida in January 2010 to four years in prison and 20 years of supervised release for possession of child pornography. In 2015, his supervision was transferred to the District of Vermont where he moved after his release from prison.
In June 2018, Hammalian pleaded guilty to violating his supervised release by again possessing child pornography and was sentenced to six years in prison and 20 years of supervised release, officials said. In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a federal judge in Vermont reduced Hammalian’s sentence to time served and Hammalian was released from prison.
According to authorities, on Nov. 13, 2023, the U.S. Probation Office searched Hammalian’s residence and found five unapproved devices capable of connecting to the Internet, including three smartphones and two tablets, two of which contained child sex abuse material. The investigation found that Himalayan was managing about a dozen social media accounts and had more than 100,000 followers. Authorities have accused him of using the accounts to communicate with minors and sometimes posing as a 16-year-old boy.
Federal officials allege Hammalian received child pornography between July 2022 and November 2023. They also believe that, between July 2022 and February 2023, Hammalian enticed a minor to send him explicit photos and that he transferred “obscene material” to a minor, all while he was registered as a sex offender.