Former Navy Chief Petty Officer sentenced to 35 years in prison for conspiring to sexually abuse children

NORFOLK, Va. - A Water View man was sentenced today to 35 years in prison for conspiring to produce child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.

According to court documents, after retiring as a Navy Chief Petty Officer, Cory Richard Hambley, 43, worked as a program analyst for the Missile Defense Agency, where he held a Top Secret security clearance and supervised 50 to 60 subordinates. In November 2022, Hambley, who was married, contacted his former girlfriend, Grace Elizabeth Paradis, 43, of Virginia Beach. Hambley repeatedly encouraged Paradis to provide CSAM depicting Paradis abusing two minor children, ages five and nine.

Knowing that Paradis was struggling to pay her rent, Hambley leveraged Paradis' financial situation as well as Paradis' interest in a relationship with Hambley to induce her to provide CSAM. Hambley provided Paradis with a camera to be hidden and used to surreptitiously record images of the children, including Paradis sexually abusing them. In March 2023, Hambley transferred nearly $4,000 to Paradis with the expectation that she would produce and provide CSAM. Paradis recorded the children's abuse and provided the resultant CSAM to Hambley. Hambley also provided Paradis access to a Google Drive folder to facilitate her provision of CSAM to him.

During this time, Hambley was married to "CH." Before they were married, CH introduced Hambley to a minor child. Afterward, Hambley, CH, and the child lived together. On Hambley's electronic devices, investigators found CSAM files depicting the child that were created without the child's knowledge. Investigators also found images of two adult victims, with whom Hambley had served in the U.S. Navy, that Hambley created without their knowledge.

Hambley also collected and shared other CSAM on the Internet. Investigators identified an additional 1,155 images and 142 videos of CSAM on Hambley's electronic devices.

Paradis pled guilty on Oct. 23, 2025, to conspiring to produce child sexual abuse material (CSAM). She is scheduled to be sentenced on May 21 and faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison.

The Homeland Security Investigations Norfolk office investigated this case with assistance from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and the Virginia Beach Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Gantt and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Marek prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney's Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

For more information about HSI's efforts to protect children from sexual predators, visit Know2Protect.gov.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District CourtLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACERLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. by searching for Case No. 2:25-cr-44.