All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
(Lander, WY) – Sean Brennan pled “not guilty” to a federal possession of child pornography (subsequent offense) felony charge at his arraignment hearing held on December 11, before the Honorable Judge R. Michael Shickich in Casper.
A jury trial has been set for February 10, 2025.
Brennan, who was charged locally with attempted third degree sexual abuse of a child back in October, was later charged with the federal possession of child pornography (subsequent offense) felony charge, according to federal court filings posted on November 20.
Brennan was originally charged following the efforts of a YouTube channel called ColoradoPedPatrol, which had set up a fake account for a 13-year-old girl named “Sam,” whom Brennan had engaged in illicit/sexual correspondences with leading up to the sting, court documents state.
The YouTuber, Tommy Fellows, is a self-proclaimed “online child predator catcher” who confronted Brennan with the evidence at his former job in Lander, which ultimately led to his arrest in September.
(The video of the confrontation, which has amassed over 154,000 views and does contain graphic language, can be viewed in full here.)
The local charges were dismissed “for the reason that the Defendant has been indicted in the United States District Court of Wyoming, by authorities of the United States Government,” according to a motion to dismiss document filed on December 2.
Brennan remains detained at this time following yesterday’s arraignment, which also functioned as a detention hearing.
His jury trial is scheduled for February 10, 2025.
A federal possession of child pornography (subsequent offense) felony charge holds a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment (minimum of 10), a $250,000 fine, 5 years to life of supervised release, a $100 special assessment fee, a $5,000 special assessment fee (pursuant to the Victims of Sex Trafficking Act Of 2015), and a $17,000 special assessment with mandatory restitution of no less than $3,000 (per requesting victim pursuant to the Amy, Vicky, And Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act Of 2018).
County 10 will continue to provide updates on the case, which can be viewed here.