A Texas jury convicted 37-year-old Desiree Hamm to be the first female charged as a Sexually Violent Predator.
Hamm, of San Diego, CA, was convicted on charges that stemmed from an investigation led by the Comal County Sheriff’s Office.
Ham Began Online Relationships with Two Teens Through Role-Playing Games, Brainwashed Them into Thinking the Game was a Reality
In late 2009, Hamm, who was 22 at the time, began online relationships with two teen-related victims. Hamm preyed upon her victims by first grooming them through “role-playing games” which eventually became sexual, According to the Comal County District Attorney’s Office.
After spending hundreds of hours on the phone and computer with the girls, Hamm brainwashed them to believe that the game was a reality. The Comal County District Attorney’s Office says Hamm utilized manipulation and dominance over girls through webcams she sent and would constantly monitor the girls.
“Hamm also used dominance and manipulation tactics to isolate the girls’ from their families; sent the girls secret cell phones, computers, pills and gifts;” and “preyed upon their naivety and violated their innocence while she watched on a webcam,” the DA’s office said in a press release.
Hamm Abducted the Teen Girls Before Subjecting Them to Sexual, Physical and Psychological Abuse
Hamm was then accused of using another adult woman to organize a trip from San Diego to Texas to abduct the teen girls. The pair took the minors, holding them in the trunk of the car for part of the journey, to California.
Investigators were quickly led to Hamm through cell phones left behind by the girls. The sex offender lied to authorities and then moved the teens from San Diego to Fresno. The girls remained there for a month where they were abused sexually, physically and psychologically. At one point, Hamm branded the girls with a brand that resembled one of her tattoos.
Cops were finally able to locate the girls when a tracking device was attached to a nebulizer that Hamm had to buy for one of the victims who was sick.
Hamm Described as a ‘Cult Leader’ Who Wanted to Control Victims’ Lives
Hamm pleaded guilty to 13 counts of sexual abuse of a child and aggravated kidnapping and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2011. This week, a jury in Comal County, Texas, just north of San Antonio, was tasked with examining her case ahead of her application for parole.
Dr. Jason Dunham, a forensic psychologist, told the jury that Hamm does not align with the usual female sex offending pattern, but instead appears more like a “cult leader” who was able to control all aspects of these victims’ lives. Dunham added that Hamm would be extremely likely to re-offend if she was ever released.
Hamm is the first female Sexually Violent Predator since the law was enacted in 1999. As a Sexually Violent Predator, Hamm will be transferred to the custody of the Texas Civil Commitment Office upon her release from prison. That agency will provide her with long-term sex offender treatment and supervision at the Texas Civil Commitment Center in Littlefield, Texas.
She will be committed to this program indefinitely and will be evaluated every two years to determine if there has been a change in her risk of sexual re-offense.
