Crime & Safety
Church Volunteer's Sex Abuse Case Proceeds
The South City man caught committing sexual acts with minors over the summer is slated to begin trial in January.
A South San Francisco man who pleaded not guilty to 58 felony counts in three cases, appeared in court on Monday for a pretrial conference.
Brandon Lee Hamm, 37, was caught posting Craigslist advertisements for "horny skater boys" in June 2012. A South City Police detective responded to the ad, posing as a 14-year-old boy. The defendant set up a time and place to meet, and police apprehended him there.
Police found pornographic images of children on the defendant's phone. By searching the defendant's email account, police also located a victim who had met Hamm in 2009 to engage in oral copulation and sodomy. That victim was 14 years old at the time.
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Police also located a 15-year-old victim who met to engage in sex acts with the defendant in 2010.
Hamm is a former volunteer clergyman of the Peninsula Metropolitan Community Church in San Mateo, which primarily serves the LGBTQ community.
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Reverend Dr. Nancy Wilson of the San Mateo church told the Bay Area Reporter in July that the case was "a complete shock" and "heartbreaking for the church." "She said she and others with the church don't believe Hamm's alleged actions are related to his work at Peninsula MCC," the Reporter stated.
The defendant is in custody on $500,000 bail. Jury trial is slated for Jan. 7, 2013.
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