Clifford G. Brandon III, a former firefighter, has pleaded guilty to 12 counts of possession of child porn, according to court documents. His plea agreement includes 12 years in prison, though his official sentencing from a judge won’t come until October.
Court documents show Brandon, now 55, changed his plea from not guilty to guilty on August 14, 2024.
Brandon pleaded guilty to 12 counts of possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor (victim less than 18 years of age), according to the agreement. The document shows eight counts of the same charge were dismissed.
According to the agreement, the recommended sentence is 1 year on each count to which Brandon pleaded guilty, to run consecutively for a total of 12 years. Part of the agreement also includes Clifford registering as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Brandon’s official sentence will be handed out during an October 2 court appearance.
An arrest citation shows that the investigation began when Google Inc. sent a number of photos from Brandon’s Google Drive account to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which in turn assigned the case to the Kentucky Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force.
Multiple search warrants were obtained, including for Brandon’s residence, personal area at his place of employment, and his vehicles and electronics, according to the citation. The document says that numerous photos depicting explicit photos of minors were discovered.
Brandon was arrested on February 10, 2023, and initially charged with 20 total counts related to possession of child porn.
Brandon was a firefighter with the Owensboro Fire Department at the time of his arrest. One of the search warrants was conducted at OFD Fire Station 2, according to a previous release.
Brandon was immediately suspended without pay, with a release from City officials saying the City “does not condone this behavior and will move forward with an internal procedure to determine disciplinary actions for the employee.”
Brandon was lodged in the Daviess County Detention Center from February 10 until June 2, 2023, when he posted an unsecured $100,000 bail.
