Edmonton father jailed for having sex with teen

army cadet in Alberta

TONY BLAIS COURT BUREAU EDMONTON SUN
FIRST POSTED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 04, 2015 06:20 PM MST | UPDATED: FRIDAY,
DECEMBER 04, 2015 06:27 PM MST

A married Edmonton father of two who had sex with a willing 13-year-old girl he met
while volunteering with the Army Cadets has been handed jail time.
Ryan Hammermeister, 30, was sentenced to two years behind bars, to be followed by
three years of probation, after pleading guilty in Provincial Court to sexual interference
and two counts of Internet luring.
Judge Laura Stevens ruled it was aggravating that the ex-soldier was more than
double the victims age, he sent her manipulative texts that pressured her to provide
him with pornographic images and he had sex with her at her home when he knew she
was vulnerable and alone.
As well, she found it aggravating that he knew his military experience would have
resulted in him being in an enhanced position of respect in the eyes of a young cadet
and he was reckless to the teen suffering emotional harm.

According to agreed facts, Hammermeister a former Canadian soldier who served in

Afghanistan met the teen in 2013 through the Army Cadets program. She was a cadet
and he was a volunteer with the program.
For many months Hammermeister communicated with the teen via various text
messaging programs and many texts were sexually explicit and degrading and included
increasing pressure for her to have sex with him.
The texts also included requests that she send him pictures of her naked breasts. She
ultimately sent him two such images and he sent her a picture of his erect penis. He
also told her he previously had sex with other cadets.
The girl lived with her father at the time and was typically home alone for a few hours
after school. This was known to Hammermeister and he pressed her to let him come to
her home to have sex with her while her father was not there. On one occasion she
agreed and they did.
Hammermeister said he thought the girl was 16, but admitted he took no reasonable
steps to learn her age.
The online communications were discovered by the teens father and he called police.
Hammermeister confessed after being arrested.
The teen believed she was in a romantic relationship with Hammermeister and said in a
victim impact statement that she gets angry and feels hate, has a hard time opening up
with people and does not trust men in authority.
Hammermeister was also ordered to submit a DNA sample for the national DNA
database and placed on the national sex offender registry for life. As well, he is
forbidden from working or volunteering in positions where he would have access to
minors.