Oakland man sentenced to over 18 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting a child

OAKLAND, Calif.  – An Oakland man who admitted sexually exploiting a young child in his care was sentenced Tuesday to 220 months in federal prison and ordered to serve a lifetime of supervised release, following a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

D’mar Dwain Jennings Conway, 29, who pleaded guilty March 7 to sexual exploitation of children, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White. In his plea agreement, Conway admitted coercing the victim, for whom he served as a caregiver, to engage in sex acts for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of the conduct. The defendant further admitted that numerous pictures he took of himself engaging in sex acts with the child, who was approximately 3 to 6 years old, were taken inside Conway’s residence. 

According to the criminal complaint filed in the case, HSI special agents executed a federal search warrant at Conway’s residence in May 2016.  During the search, investigators seized a digital video camera from Conway’s bedroom that contained a SanDisk SD card. Forensic software resulted in the recovery of numerous image files showing Conway sexually molesting a young child. The government’s sentencing memorandum noted that there were nearly 25,000 images on the SanDisk showing Conway’s molestation of the victim. The government’s sentencing memorandum also indicated HSI special agents located over 460 images of child pornography on Conway’s smartphone.

A federal grand jury indicted Conway June 16, 2016, charging him with one count of sexual exploitation of children, and one count of possession and access with intent to view child pornography. Under the plea agreement, Conway pleaded guilty to the first charge.

“The conduct for which Mr. Conway was sentenced 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 Brian J. 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.”

During the sentencing hearing, Judge White described Conway’s conduct as “truly devastating,” noting that young victims are sentenced to a life of damaged psyches. 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. Conway is currently in custody and will begin serving his sentence immediately.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christina McCall and Erin Cornell prosecuted the case with the assistance of Vanessa Vargas Quant and Trina Khadoo. 

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.