BRUNSWICK
A former Brunswick police officer was sentenced in U.S. District Court Wednesday to one year and one day in prison and two years of supervised release for attempting to transfer obscene matter to a minor.
Garrett Brosnan, 25, of Bath, was sentenced Wednesday.
Brosnan had pleaded guilty to the offense in September 2016. The Portland Press Herald reports Brosnan’s attorney says he is taking responsibility for what he did and seeking counseling.
Judge Jon Levy said in court that Brosnan’s background in law enforcement made his conduct “more inexcusable.”
According to U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II, court records indicate in May 2016, agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations were investigating a report that an unknown adult male had an inappropriate online interaction with a minor girl in Arizona.
According to an affidavit from investigating HSI Special Agent Douglas McDonnell, the investigation stemmed from a complaint filed with the Flagstaff Police Department in Arizona. The affidavit states that in October 2015, a 13-year-old girl had a five-day online conversation with a man identifying himself as a 19-yearold male. The conversation was discovered by the girl’s parents, and her father alerted Flagstaff police in January 2016.
Investigators obtained information suggesting that the male was Brosnan. An HSI investigator in Arizona initiated an undercover online conversation with Brosnan in late May. The investigator posed as a 14- year-old girl online and began having conversations with Brosnan, who prosecutors say then sent pictures of his genitals.
Following Brosnan’s arrest, Delahanty’s office stated that Brosnan faced two counts of attempting to transfer obscene material to a minor. Brosnan had reportedly sent obscene material to the HSI agent posing as a 14-year-old girl on two occasions.
In August, Brosnan’s attorney, Michael Cunniff, told The Times Record he expected a plea deal would be worked out so that his client would only be charged with a single count.
Three days after his arrest, Brosnan, who had been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation, resigned from Brunswick Police Department. He had been with the department three years.
The investigation was conducted by HSI offices in Maine and Arizona.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
dmoore@timesrecord.com
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