A Comal County jury on January 30, 2025, determined that 37-year-old Desiree Hamm of San Diego, California, is a Sexually Violent Predator (SVP), marking the first time a female has received this classification in Texas. Judge Stephanie Bascon of the 466th District Court presided over the trial.
Under Texas law, inmates with two or more convictions for sexually violent offenses who are nearing release are reviewed for the state's Sexually Violent Predator Civil Commitment program. To be classified as an SVP, an offender must be found to have a “behavioral abnormality that makes them likely to engage in a predatory act of sexual violence.” Hamm was eligible for this process due to her convictions in Comal County in 2011.
Hamm was convicted for offenses stemming from a 2009 investigation by the Comal County Sheriff’s Office. At the time, she developed online relationships with two teenage victims, manipulating them through role-playing games that became sexual in nature. Hamm controlled the victims using webcams, falsely accused their parents of sexual abuse, and provided them with secret cell phones, computers, and pills. She then arranged for an accomplice, Sarah Nadeau, to kidnap the victims from Texas and transport them to California, at times confining them in the trunk of a car.
For a month, Hamm held the victims captive, committing multiple sexual assaults and subjecting them to psychological abuse, including branding them with a homemade mark to match her tattoo. She concealed their location by misleading family members and law enforcement until officers tracked her using a location device on a nebulizer she obtained for one of the victims.
Hamm pleaded guilty on August 4, 2011, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison for 13 convictions, including Sexual Performance by a Child, Aggravated Kidnapping with Intent to Violate and Abuse Sexually, and Sexual Abuse of a Child. She was also sentenced to 10 years of probation to begin after her release. After serving 15 years, Hamm became eligible for civil commitment consideration following an early release granted by the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole.
During the SVP trial, Deputy Director of Sex Offender Programs Jennifer Deyne called Hamm’s case “extremely alarming.” Forensic psychologist Dr. Jason Dunham likened Hamm’s behavior to that of a "cult leader" and assessed her risk of reoffending as high. Forensic psychologist Dr. Christine Reed and forensic psychiatrist Dr. Michael Arambula testified that Hamm’s manipulative and predatory behavior set her apart from typical female sex offenders.
Hamm testified in her own defense, admitting that she had continued engaging in "role-play games" with multiple pen pals during her incarceration and that she lied to experts and the state attorney. She minimized her involvement in the kidnappings and assaults, placing blame on her co-defendant and victims.
As a result of the jury’s verdict, Hamm will be transferred to the Texas Civil Commitment Center in Littlefield, Texas, upon her release from prison, where she will undergo indefinite supervision and sex offender treatment. She will be re-evaluated every two years to determine if her risk level has changed.
The case was prosecuted by the Texas Special Prosecution Unit in coordination with the Comal County District Attorney’s Office. “It has been a historical week for Texas, and I am grateful for the jury’s verdict,” said Comal County District Attorney Jennifer Tharp.
