Ex-realty agent pleads guilty in child sex case
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John A. Brownlee III, a longtime fixture in the Mt. Lebanon real estate world, pleaded guilty Thursday to attempting to coerce and entice a minor into sexual activity.
Mr. Brownlee, 62, who had moved to North Versailles prior to his arrest last year, could face a 20- to 24-year sentence, and is subject to a mandatory minimum of 10 years, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar. Mr. Brownlee's attorney, Leonard Sweeney, said he hopes to present mitigating information that would suggest a five-year sentence.
Ms. Lieber Smolar said that in November 2010, Mr. Brownlee met a woman who later became a confidential informant on a website for people interested in sadism and masochism. Later they connected by phone, and he asked her "for access to her children for the purposes of sexual conduct." The woman declined and contacted law enforcement.
In February, Mr. Brownlee electronically sent the woman pictures of children engaged in sex acts. In April, in a phone call recorded by law enforcement, he "detailed for the informant the graphic sexual acts he wanted to perform on a 7-year-old child and possibly a 31/2-year-old sibling," Ms. Lieber Smolar said.
The woman then helped Mr. Brownlee to arrange a hotel meeting with another woman who purported to be a mother willing to allow him the use of her children. He checked into the Bridgeville hotel and was then arrested. A Disney Barbie, Viagra, condoms and a camera were found in his car, according to the prosecution.
Asked by U.S. District Judge Terrence F. McVerry whether he agreed with the prosecution's summary, Mr. Brownlee conferred with Mr. Sweeney before saying, "Yes, I do, your honor."
Mr. Brownlee was a real estate agent who also had a contract with Allegheny County to serve as a hearing officer for the Board of Property Assessment Appeals and Review. That contract, initiated in 2001, was terminated in June.
He is to be sentenced on May 11.
First Published January 6, 2012 12:00 am
