Officials: Jailed man offered money to keep kids from court

By Mary Manning

Friday, Oct. 23, 2009 | 10:02 a.m.

A man accused of sexually assaulting children in Pahrump is facing new charges, the Nye County Sheriff's Office said today.

Nye County detectives said 57-year-old Samuel Vernon Hamett, accused of committing sexual acts against at least 10 children under the age of 14, requested a visit with the mother of one of the children in the case.

While in his jail cell, detectives said he talked with the mother of one of the 10 children involved in the alleged crimes and intimidated her, offering financial compensation if she kept the children from showing up at his trial, detectives said.

Hamett was trying to ensure that the children didn't show up for court in an effort to get out of his charges, Nye County detectives said.

Hamett has been rearrested on the new charges. He has been rebooked into the Nye County Detention Center, pending $10,000 in additional bail. He is already facing $250,000 bail on the previous charges relating to the crimes against the children.

Hamett's arraignment for the original charges is scheduled for Tuesday in Nye County and he has not appeared before a judge, detectives said.

Nye County detectives are still investigating Hamett and are asking that anyone with children who were alone around Hamett contact the Nye County Sheriff's Office at (775) 751-7000.