SEATTLE (AP) — A 38-year-old SeaTac, Washington, man was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court to 25 years in prison for four federal felonies related to child sexual abuse.
The Seattle Times reports Brandan L. Wilkins pleaded guilty in February 2021 to enticing a minor, traveling with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor and possessing and receiving child pornography. Wilkins was a Transit Security Administration agent at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and has been in custody since his arrest in 2018.
“Mr. Wilkins’ pattern of predatory and dangerous conduct left a trail of traumatized children in his wake,” said Nick Brown, the U.S. attorney. “This lengthy sentence and the lifetime of supervised release imposed, are necessary to protect the children in our community.”
According to court documents, an electronic service provider notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an internet account had received a video of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Law enforcement identified Wilkins as the owner of the internet account and a subsequent search of his online activity revealed Wilkins was posing as a 13-year-old boy to solicit sexually explicit pictures from young teens.
Wilkins will next be appearing in King County Superior Court to face charges of sex offenses against a minor. King County prosecutors are recommending a sentence of 24 years that would run at the same time as his federal sentence, according to the Department of Justice.
