A mentally challenged Guyton man pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of children in case involving his 14-year-old cousin and was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 10 years of probation.
Brandon Anthony Fanning, 21, pleaded guilty Tuesday and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge F. Gates Peed.
Fanning was 19 on Nov. 19, 2012, when he and his 14-year-old cousin were captured on video performing and receiving anal and oral sex at a house in Effingham County, Assistant District Attorney Ben Edwards has said.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security found a large distributor of child porn in Louisiana in 2013, Edwards said. One of the videos was of Fanning and the 14-year-old.
The pair believed they were speaking on a video Internet call with a female, but they really were speaking with an older male who was recording their actions, Edwards said.
Edwards described Fanning and the 14-year-old as cousins.
Public Defender Stuart Patray has said they were related through marriage, “like step-cousins.”
Because of the plea, four counts of aggravated child molestation were not prosecuted. Fanning faced up to four life sentences and 20 years if he had been convicted of all the charges.
Edwards had asked that Fanning be sentenced to the maximum for the charge – 20 years in prison.
Fanning had indicated a year ago that he would plead guilty to the charge.