How Could You? Hall of Shame-Brandon Hoffman UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.
From Hutchinson, Kansas, “Hutchinson man who, with his wife, received an award in 2009 for their advocacy of adopting foster children, was convicted this week on three counts of child abuse on allegations he repeatedly sexually molested one of those children.

Brandon Hoffman, 48, pleaded no contest on Wednesday to the three counts of child abuse and was found guilty by District Judge Joe McCarville.

Prosecutors originally charged Hoffman with seven counts each of aggravated sodomy and aggravated sexual battery, and one count of intimidation of a witness to prevent testimony.

The cases stemmed from alleged incidents between January 2006 and September 2010 that were not reported until 2017, after the victim was an adult.

The case was investigated for nearly two years by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation before the charges were filed in November 2019.

Reno County Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Rodebaugh said the theory of the charges in the amended complaint filed on Wednesday is that Hoffman “cruelly tortured a child” with his actions.

The severity level 5 charge falls in a border box on state sentencing guidelines, meaning it carries presumptive probation.

Rodebaugh said she’ll ask the court to run the sentences consecutively, for a cumulative sentence of 8 years should Hoffman ever be ordered to prison.

Hoffman has continually denied the allegations, Rodebaugh said, and a no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, though it means he does not contest the charges and would be found guilty.

According to “statements of fact” the prosecutor presented during Wednesday’s hearing to enable the court to find Hoffman guilty, the victim told KBI and Cheyenne County investigators that Hoffman would come to his room and masturbate and sodomize him, then masturbate himself.

The victim said the acts occurred multiple times, always the same way, but prosecutors charged Hoffman only with counts on specific dates the teen could remember – on his birthdays and at Christmas.

The victim described to investigators distinguishing marks Hoffman had on his body, which a sexual assault nurse who examined Hoffman stated were consistent with what the teen described.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors also agreed not to file any charges related to an investigation involving a second child.

Rodebaugh said the victim agreed with the plea deal, which allows the case to be resolved without him having to testify and it results in three “person felonies” on Hoffman’s record.

The Hoffman’s were honored in October 2009 with an “Angel in Adoption” award from the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) for their advocacy of adoption and foster care.

According to the website Project Belong, a non-profit that the couple created and which employed Brandon Hoffman as president and CEO, the couple adopted 10 of their 12 children over 16 years from the Kansas foster care system.

The website also notes “Brandon has continually served in church adult, youth, and children’s ministry positions for the past 20 years.”

The Kansas Department of Children and Families did not immediately respond to question from The News.”

Hutchinson man convicted of abuse to an adopted foster child
[The Hutchinson News 5/20/21 by John Green]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: Brandon Hoffman “was sentenced Thursday to three years of probation.
Based on the charges that Brandon Hoffman, 48, pleaded to, he doesn’t even have to register as a child sex offender.

However, District Judge Joe McCarville did order that the 32-month suspended sentences Hoffman received on each of three counts of child abuse run consecutively, so if Hoffman fails on Community Corrections, he’ll face eight years in prison.

“I want you to know, Mr. Hoffman, that in my mind, you’re a typical child molester,” McCarville said. “The sooner you learn to accept that, the better the chance you’ll do the reformation you need, so nothing like this happens again.”

Prosecutors initially charged Hoffman with 15 counts, including seven counts each of aggravated sodomy and aggravated sexual battery, and one count of intimidation of a witness to prevent testimony.

The cases stemmed from incidents between January 2006 and September 2010, though the victim did not report them until 2017, after becoming an adult. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation had the case for almost another two years before the state filed charges in November 2019.”

Man accused of repeatedly molesting foster son gets probation
[The Hutchinson News 8/5/21 by John Green]