MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A man previously convicted of child rape was arrested at Miami International Airport on Wednesday after authorities said they found two files of child sexual abuse material on his phone.
Christopher Hammond, 50, of Herriman, Utah, is facing two felony charges in South Florida. He is on Utah’s sex offender registry after a 2001 conviction in Colorado for sexual assault on a child under 15 by a person in a position of trust; he served more than five years in prison.
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He could now face more prison time in the Sunshine State after authorities said a search of his cellphone turned up two images showing nude girls, one of whom was under 8.
An arrest report from the Miami-Dade Police Department states that upon arriving at MIA Wednesday morning, border agents sent Hammond to a “hard secondary” screening after he was flagged as a sex offender.
There, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents found the two photos in a hidden folder, the report states.
The report doesn’t state where Hammond was flying in from.
Police said Hammond told officers there was no child sexual abuse material on his cellphone, but claimed he’s seen it randomly “pop up” when he browses the Internet for “regular” pornography.
He then asked for a lawyer, the report states.
As of Thursday, Hammond was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $5,000 bond, according to online jail records.