Franklin man gets 15 years in prison

Brian Reed, 36, of Franklin was sentenced to 15 years in prison for attempted enticement of a minor on Tuesday, March 26 by U.S. District Judge Phillip Halpern.

He pleaded guilty Oct. 23.

Reed had been convicted of endangering the welfare of a child through sexual conduct in Superior Court in Morris County in 2016. He was sentenced in February 2017 to three years in prison and required to register as a sex offender. He also was sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release.

“Brian Reed’s actions demonstrate the depths of depravity and danger potentially lurking in the digital realm that connects us all,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said March 26. “Let this sentencing serve as a reminder that this office will harness every tool at our disposal to hold accountable those who prey on and exploit our youth.”

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in related court proceedings, an investigator with the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office, who was working undercover posing as a 13-year-old girl on an online platform, engaged in text communications with Reed on May 26, 2022.

During the communications, Reed requested sexually explicit photos and asked “the girl” to meet him to have sex. He described the sexual things he wanted to do and when she asked if he was “ok w my age,” he responded, “Yes of course.”

Reed made a plan to meet the undercover investigator that evening in Rockland County, saying, “Im going to make you moan so loud you are going to feel amazing” and instructed, “You should wear something thats easy to take off.”

He then drove from New Jersey to Rockland County to have sex with the purported 13-year-old and was arrested when he arrived.

Williams praised the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Rockland County Sherriff’s Office and the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office in connection with the investigation.