California Department of Justice Latent Fingerprints Unit assisted with this case

“We appreciate the efforts by all the public safety and criminal justice professionals who assisted with this case.  Protecting our children is protecting individuals from a lifetime of emotional trauma and protecting our future.”

CSLEA President Alan Barcelona

FORT BRAGG – On April 1, 2025, Jeffery Lloyd Hockett, 64, of Fort Bragg, was sentenced to 16 years in prison.  He was found guilty by a jury on December 12, 2024 of the following felony crimes:

• Possession in April 2024 of pornography of minor children under the age 18 years, with prior felony sex convictions involving minor children out of Oregon in 1997 and 2006;

• Possession in April 2024 of over 600 pornographic images of minor children under the age of 18 years;

• Possession in April 2024 of sadomasochistic pornography of minor children under the age of 18;

• Willful failure to register as a sex offender between August 1, 2023 and October 31, 2023;

• Willful failure to register as a sex offender between November 1, 2023 and January 31, 2024; and

• Willful failure to register as a sex offender between February 1, 2024 and March 31, 2024.

The jury also found true the sentencing enhancement alleging that the defendant has previously suffered a Strike conviction, within the meaning of California’s voter-modified Three Strikes law.

The time delay between the verdicts in December and April’s sentencing hearing was due to law and motion proceedings initiated by Hockett seeking to throw out the guilty verdicts from December and demanding a new trial.

That motion for new trial was heard and denied in early March.

The law enforcement agencies that developed the evidence used to convict the defendant were the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force, the Fort Bragg Police Department, the Department of Justice Latent Fingerprints Unit, and the DA’s own Bureau of Investigations.