COVINGTON — Following a retrial, a Slidell man has been sentenced to 115 years in prison after pleading guilty to child sex offenses and child pornography charges, the St. Tammany District Attorney announced Monday. 

David Allen Hammond Jr., 47, pleaded guilty Thursday to remaining counts of child sex abuse and child pornography production that had been remanded for retrial.

Hammond was originally convicted by a St. Tammany Parish jury in May 2019 on 28 total counts, including aggravated crime against nature, sexual battery of a minor, production and possession of juvenile pornography and obstruction of justice, resulting in an initial 175-year sentence.

In August 2020, the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed four of the convictions, totaling 15 years in prison, but set aside 24 counts based on non-unanimous 11-1 jury verdicts. 

Last week, Hammond pleaded guilty as charged rather than proceeding to a second trial. District Judge Tara Farris Zeller sentenced him to a 115-year sentence on top of the 15 years he was already set to serve. 

The investigation into Hammond began in Dec. 2016 when St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies located a 14-year-old girl who had fled his residence. The girl informed police of years of severe physical and sexual abuse, leading detectives to execute a search warrant at Hammond's home. Investigators uncovered thousands of images and videos containing child sexual abuse material involving the young girl. 

"This defendant subjected a young, innocent victim to horrific abuse and tried everything possible to escape long-term accountability, including attempting to destroy critical hard drive evidence while locked in jail," District Attorney Collin Sims said in a prepared statement. "Thanks to the courage of the victim who stood up in court to confront him, along with the tireless work of our prosecution team and law enforcement partners, this dangerous predator has finally acknowledged his guilt and will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Justice has prevailed and our community is safer with him locked away."