BY: BRYAN MORAN
Public records obtained by EverythingLubbock.com show Brian Brisendine, the former managing editor of the Brownfield News and former Executive Director of Brownfield Industrial Development Corporation (BIDCorp) was paid three months of salary by BIDCorp after his arrest for federal child pornography charges.
Brisendine was paid a gross amount of $20,988.26 after reaching a separation agreement with BIDCorp which agreed to pay Brisendine “a severance payment equal to three months’ salary plus benefits” through April 29, 2022. The benefits were comprised of a $600 car allowance and a $100 allowance for a cell phone on every other paycheck during the three months. According to the documents, the $20,988.26 did not include deductions such as taxes and did not include 200 hours of accrued vacation pay, also Brisendine signed his separation agreement with Brownfield on January 27.
According to EverythingLubbock.com the agreement BIDCorp and Brisendine entered considered him terminated immediately but he still had to make himself available to answer questions about day-to-day business at the BIDCorp.
Brisendine’s charges and arrest stem from a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDPS) investigation that began in October of 2021 after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children sent a tip that a storage account of files containing materials of child sexual abuse was linked to an I.P. Address that was tracked to Brisendine’s house in Brownfield. According to court documents, the storage account of files was also associated with an email address Brisendine had used in a driver’s license application.
On January. 18, 2022 TxDPS agents searched Brisendine’s home and he also met with agents and admitted to trading images of child pornography online since 2014. He stated to investigators that he knowingly possessed all the images and videos in the storage account, which he also saved on his computer. Brisendine was arrested on January 19, 2022, and was released on bond
According to federal court documents, Brisendine pleaded guilty on Monday, March 28, 2022, to one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography. Brisendine’s case eventually came under Federal District Judge Hendrix for the sentencing phase.
Brisendine was sentenced Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, in Federal Court. Federal Judge James Hendrix handed down a 144-month (12-year) prison sentence to Brisendine. The sentencing also included restitution of $5000.00 to AVAA and $5000.00 to JVAA. Once released from prison, Brisendine will have a 15-year supervised release (probation), and he will also be required to register as a sex offender for life.
