61°
Brian Nathaniel Harris, 29, of Bristol, was sentenced to 18 to 42 years in the state correctional institution by Common Pleas Judge Gary B. Gilman, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office announced Friday, Aug. 23. He was also sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to undergo sex offender treatment and a mental health evaluation.
Relatives of the victims packed a courtroom at the Criminal Justice Center on Friday with some providing statements to Judge Gilman on how Harris’s crimes have impacted the lives of the victims and their families.
"Sexual assault is every parent’s worst fear," one of the victim’s mothers said. "It’s usually a news story about an anonymous child in the community; however, Mr. Harris has made it a reality for my child and my community."
One of the victims came forward to tell Judge Gilman that his entire life has changed because of what Harris did to him.
"For years, he convinced me that he was a trusted friend, and that he would always protect me," he said. "For four years, I kept what the defendant did to me a secret. Every day I worried it would happen again. Hiding it took a huge toll on my mental health.
"Even now, while it is no longer a secret, I am still learning how to process all of my feelings."
The brave young man told the judge that he wants a sentence that would make sure Harris "never has the chance to hurt another child, or their family, the way that he has hurt me and my family."
Chief Deputy District Attorney Kristin M. McElroy commended the victims and their families for the courage it took to provide those statements. Last November, District Attorney Jennifer Schorn announced the arrest of Harris, saying “a predator living among us like this is a community’s worst fear.”
Harris was first charged with sharing an image of child pornography on the social media site Snapchat. He was taken into custody at his home in the 1200 block of Pond Street.
Further investigation led to the discovery of the child sexual assaults, the DA's office said. As part of that investigation, detectives served a search warrant for electronic devices, seizing two cell phones. A forensic extraction of those cell phones uncovered more than 500 combined image and video files containing child sexual abuse material.
An analysis of those files showed Harris filming himself while he touched or sexually assaulted the victims, one of whom was asleep during the assaults.
In several of the files, Harris' right hand is captured wearing a black ring inscribed with the words “Yee Yee.” He was wearing the ring when he was taken into custody.
The investigation also found that Harris shared several of those files through various social media platforms using multiple online identities. The victims were identified as two boys and one girl, ranging in age from two to 12. The investigation found that these crimes occurred within Bucks County between September 2018 and September 2023.
On Friday, Harris pleaded guilty to 18 counts that included involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of an unconscious person, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, indecent assault of an unconscious person, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age, knowingly photographing or filming a child sex act, dissemination of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
The case was investigated by Bucks County Detectives, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, the Attorney General’s Office, the United States Marshal Service, the Falls Township Police Department, and the Bristol Borough Police Department. Chief Deputy District Attorney Kristin M. McElroy prosecuted the case.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Hampden-Silver Spring and receive free news updates.
