By Andrew Wolfe
Nashua Telegraph
May 16, 2008
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080516/NEWS01/245245077/-1/news
NASHUA A convicted sex offender, who admitted to fondling an 8-year-old girl while working as a monitor on a Faith Baptist Church bus, was sentenced Thursday to serve at least 13 years in prison.
Eugene Hammond, 59, formerly of 10 Burke St., Nashua, had been jailed since his arrest in October.
On Thursday, Hammond pleaded guilty to two counts of felonious sexual assault, and one count of possession of child pornography.
The charges all are class B felonies, but Hammond faced more than the usual 3-1/2 to seven-year maximum sentence because of the girl's age and his prior record, Assistant Hillsborough County Attorney Patricia LaFrance said.
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Hammond previously was convicted of at least three previous sexual assaults against children in Florida and Pennsylvania, in 1973, 1979 and 1987, LaFrance said.
Hammond had not registered as a sex offender in New Hampshire, LaFrance said, and officials weren't able to determine whether he was legally required to do so, largely because his previous convictions were so old and from out-of-state, she said.
Police began to investigate Hammond last fall, after a 16-year-old girl disclosed to a counselor that she'd been molested repeatedly on the church bus when she was 8 years old, police said at the time of Hammond's arrest.
Hammond was a member of the Faith Baptist Church in Nashua and volunteered as a bus monitor for the church from 1998-2002, police said. The church runs a fleet of buses to bring people from around the region to services and Sunday school. Hammond had also baby-sat for church members on occasion, police said.
The girl had told her father about Hammond soon after the assaults happened, LaFrance said, but no one contacted police. Hammond was asked to leave the church, however, she said.
State law requires people to report the sexual abuse of children, but it's not clear whether church officials were aware of the exact nature of the abuse at that time, LaFrance said.
Searching Hammond's home after his arrest, police found more than 1,000 images of children being sexually abused, stored on his computer and compact discs, LaFrance said.
Hammond was unusually candid when confronted by detectives, LaFrance and his lawyer, public defender Ed Cross, said. Hammond admitted that he was plagued by strong sexual urges to ward children and was aroused by advertising and other common images of children. Hammond told police that he knew that his feelings were wrong and that he wished he could be rid of them, LaFrance said.
"He told one of the detectives . . . that he was attracted to young girls between the ages of 7 and 10," LaFrance said.
"It's a sickness that he has," she added later. "Maybe he recognized that he has a sickness and needs help . . . I feel that he's a ticking time bomb."
Hammond knows he needs help, Cross agreed. Hammond was unable to explain his deviant urges, but he wants to be rid of them, he said. Hammond also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of heavy combat duty in the Vietnam War, Cross said.
"What impressed me is when I reviewed his statement to police, he was totally open and candid with police about the sexual problems he had," Cross said.
Hammond has been jailed since his arrest, unable to post bail. On Thursday, he pleaded guilty to the three charges in Hillsborough County Superior Court, and was sentenced to two consecutive prison terms, totaling 13 to 28 years.
Hammond will be required to complete the prison's sexual offender treatment program before he is eligible for parole; and if paroled, he will be released under the strictest supervision possible, including some form of electronic monitoring, LaFrance said.
Andrew Wolfe can be reached at 603-594-6410 or awolfe@nashuatelegraph.com.
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