Plea Agreement Falls Through During Fact-Review in Child Sexual Abuse Case

By Isabella Quink [former] - April 13, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Sex Abuse | Sexual Assault |

A defendant reconsidered a plea agreement in an April 12 hearing for a child-sex abuse case.

The 31-year-old defendant is charged with two counts of first-degree child sex abuse in connection to events in Washington DC that occurred on or about Sept. 1, 2013, and ending on or about May 1, 2016. The defendant’s charges included recognition of previous child sexual abuse convictions. No information was found on those associated cases.

The hearing began by discussing the terms of the plea agreement in which the defendant would plead guilty to two counts of second-degree child sex abuse. Both the prosecution and defense agreed to a maximum possible sentence of six years in prison.

 However, while the prosecution read through the facts of the case, the defendant claimed they were inaccurate. 

Defense attorney Brandon Burrell informed the court the plea was “falling through the cracks” and moved to set a trial date.

According to court documents the victims were the defendant’s step-sisters. They were about five-to-eight years old at the time of the alleged abuse.

Both victims stated the abuse happened multiple times throughout the years.

The trial is scheduled for Sept. 5, and the next hearing is slated for Aug. 18.