Montgomery County Man Sentenced to 52 Years in Prison for Abuse of Autistic Girl

PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced that John Brown, 28, of Norristown, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 52 years imprisonment, lifetime supervised release, a $600 special assessment, and a $25,000 assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act by the Honorable Gene E.K. Pratter.  The defendant was also ordered to have no contact with the victim or her family for the rest of his life.

In September of 2017, the defendant pleaded guilty to three counts of manufacturing sexually explicit images of his sexual abuse and exploitation of an autistic girl for more than 18 months, one count of distribution of those pornographic images over the Internet to others, and one count of possession of child pornography for his collection of thousands of images and videos of children being sexually abused and assaulted that he downloaded from the Internet.

Brown took part in a twisted plan with his codefendant to manipulate and sexually assault the child victim in this case, who had been diagnosed on the Autism spectrum and suffered from learning disabilities and mental health issues.  Brown cut his hair and shaved his face so that he could pose as a teenage boy to dupe the victim into believing he was her boyfriend and gain her trust.  As her “boyfriend,” Brown then engaged her in sexual activity, photographed and videotaped her, and distributed the videos and images back to his codefendant.  Brown also distributed this child’s images out to others over the Internet dozens of times.

In addition to the child victim in this case, the investigation revealed Brown also had a sexual relationship with two other minor girls, and had been making plans to meet up with the father of an 11-year old girl to have three-way sex with that man’s child.

“Child exploitation is a pervasive problem – made more so by the accessibility of the Internet and digital media – that demands an aggressive response,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain.  “The allegations in this case are particularly disturbing because of the defendant’s abuse of a child with learning disabilities and the efforts he took to gain her trust so he could victimize her.  We stand ready with our federal and local partners to identify and prosecute those who would prey upon minor children.”

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Willistown Police Department, and the Chester County District Attorney’s Office.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rotella.