KEY POINTS

  • William Hamann was arrested on July 26, 2019, when he came to meet the victim for the fourth time
  • He is faced with multiple charges, including child pornography and child exploitation
  • He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 1

A former elementary school teacher from Eugene, Oregon pleaded guilty on Tuesday to sex trafficking a minor.

William Hamann, 38, has admitted to one count of sex trafficking of a child, the U.S. Attorney's office said in a release. He has been accused of sexually assaulting a minor on several occasions beginning in 2018 until July 2019. The victim was 15 years at the time of the first assault.

Hamann was arrested on July 26, 2019, when he came to meet the victim for the fourth time at a local school. The victim was not Hamman's student, according to the prosecutors.

Investigators found out that Hamann had met the victim on social media and paid her for sexual favors for more than a year. The police searched Hamman's mobile phone after his arrest and found a video recording of one of the sex acts with the girl.

A federal grand jury indicted Hamann on Aug. 21, 2019, on charges of sexual exploitation and trafficking of a child, possession of child pornography and attempted sex trafficking of a child.

Hamann is facing multiple charges including sexual abuse and sodomy and has not entered a plea agreement on the state charges. He is expected to face a trial on these charges on March 10, reported local news outlet Oregon Live.

As part of the plea agreement in federal court, Hamann has agreed to give an undisclosed amount of restitution to the victim.

Hamman is scheduled for sentencing on March 1. The federal prosecutors are planning to seek a sentence of 160 months in federal prison to be served consecutively with a 20-month prison sentence in Lane County.

legs-407196_640
Investigators found out that Hamann met the victim on social media and paid her for sexual relations for more than a year. pixabay

Sex trafficking is defined as any sex act, on account of which anything of value is given to or received by any person. U.S. Federal law does not require proof that the defendant used force or coercion against the minor to classify it under the charges of sex trafficking of minors.

Meanwhile, child pornography is defined by Federal law as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. Child sexual abuse material includes images and videos that document victims' exploitation and abuse.

RELATED STORIES