A former educational liaison for the Sitka Tribe of Alaska has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a minor, a crime that could carry up to 99 years imprisonment.
Prior to entering a plea deal Thursday afternoon, Brandon J. Snyder, 34, faced 15 felony counts, all stemming from sex crimes committed against a minor. In exchange for Snyder’s guilty plea, the prosecution agreed to drop all but one charge: sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree, a class B felony.
During his change of plea hearing in the Dimond Courthouse in Juneau, Snyder admitted to knowingly engaging in sexual penetration with a 14-year-old girl last September. He was 33 at the time and working as a home-to-school liaison for the Sitka Tribe of Alaska, a role that required him to work with the Sitka Boys and Girls Club.
Chris Orman, an assistant district attorney for Sitka, declined to say whether Snyder met the victim through his role as a school liaison. Orman doesn’t plan to release any such information until Snyder’s sentencing, which is scheduled for Jan. 18 and will take place in Sitka at the defendant’s request.
Snyder’s attorney, Julie Willoughby of Juneau, asked for a sentence of 15 years with 10 years suspended, meaning that Snyder would have to spend five years in prison. Sitka Superior Court Judge David V. George won’t have to decide on a sentence until early next year, but he recognized Thursday that Willoughby’s suggested sentence falls within the presumptive range of five to 15 years that crimes such as Snyder’s typically carry.
Willoughby also recommended a probationary period of 10 years for Snyder that will be subject to a slew of special conditions. Snyder will have to successfully complete a sex offender treatment program, and he will be barred from any intentional contact with minors without prior permission from his probation officer and treatment provider.
Snyder has a son who is a minor, which Willoughby asked Judge George to consider during the sentencing. Snyder will likely have to register as a sex offender for 15 years after he is discharged from prison, but the duration of his registration could change as it is not appointed by court. The Alaska Department of Public Safety determines the length of sex-offender registration, George told Snyder Thursday.
Snyder did not have a criminal history in Alaska until last September when police arrested him in connection to this case and charged him with six counts of sex abuse of a minor and nine counts of indecent viewing of photography without the consent of a minor.
Days after Snyder’s arrest, KCAW reported that he had been fired from his post at the Sitka Tribe of Alaska. The radio station also reported that Snyder had passed a background check to get that job.
He is currently being held in Lemon Creek Correction Center in Juneau.
• Contact reporter Sam DeGrave at 523-2279 or sam.degrave@juneauempire.com.
