Oakland resident admitted he induced minor to engage in sex acts to produce visual depictions of the conduct
OAKLAND -D’mar Dwain Jennings Conway was sentenced today to 220 months in prison, and ordered to serve a lifetime on supervised release, for sexual exploitation of a child, 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 sentence was handed down by the Honorable Jeffrey S. White, U.S. District Judge.
Conway, 29, of Oakland, pleaded guilty on March 7, 2017, to sexual exploitation of children, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2251(a) and (e). According to his plea agreement, Conway admitted to coercing a victim under the age of 12, for whom Conway was a caregiver, to engage in sex acts or sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of the conduct. Conway admitted that numerous pictures of Conway engaging in sex acts with a child who was approximately three to six years old were taken inside Conway’s residence.
According to the criminal complaint filed in the case, HSI agents executed a federal search warrant at Conway’s residence in May of 2016. During the search of Conway’s residence, agents seized a digital video camera from Conway’s bedroom that contained a SanDisc SD card. Forensic software recovered numerous image files showing Conway sexually molesting a young child. The government’s sentencing memorandum explained that the number of images located on the SanDisc SD card taken from Conway’s bedroom was close to 25,000, which showed Conway’s molestation of a particular victim. The government’s sentencing memorandum also indicated that agents located over 460 images of child pornography using forensic software to analyze Conway’s smartphone.
A federal grand jury indicted Conway on June 16, 2016, charging him 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). Pursuant to the plea agreement, Conway pleaded guilty to the first charge.
“The conduct for which Mr. Conway was sentenced today is reprehensible and Judge White’s decision to sentence the defendant to more than 18 years in prison reflects the seriousness of that conduct," said U.S. Attorney Stretch. “We are thankful for the tireless efforts of our federal partners at Homeland Security Investigations whose hard work has removed this sexual predator from our streets."
“Although justice was served today with this lengthy sentence, the damage this defendant inflicted on his innocent victims cannot truly be measured," said Ryan L. Spradlin, HSI Special Agent in Charge. “Working with our partners, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agents will continue to relentlessly pursue those who are involved in exploiting our society’s most vulnerable."
During the sentencing hearing, Judge White described Conway’s conduct as “truly devastating," noting that the young victims are sentenced to a life of damaged psyches. Judge White noted that this was an extremely difficult case for the Court and indicated that fortunately federal district courts do not have many of these cases, which involve such grave consequences to young victims.
In addition to the prison term and a lifetime of supervised release, Judge White ordered Conway to register as a sexual offender as required by state law and to have no contact with the victims or minors without the permission of his probation officer. Conway currently is in custody and will begin serving his sentence immediately.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christina McCall and Erin Cornell are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Vanessa Vargas Quant and Trina Khadoo. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigation’s Cyber Crimes Child Exploitation Group.
Members of the public who have information regarding suspected child predators or suspicious activity should 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.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
