Sentence brings dark chapter to an end

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - Kenneth Brandt stands before a judge who is at a loss for words to describe what many can't imagine.

"I don't even know what word to use," Judge Mary Katherine Huffman said during sentencing, before settling on "despicable".

But Judge Huffman's harsh words were the least of Brandt's punishments.

He was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison in Montgomery County for raping his adopted children and then allowing two other men to do the same with one of the kids.

"The sentence is fitting in this case and appropriate and this individual needs to be incarcerated for the rest of his life," says Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck.

Brandt was already sentenced to 60 years to life in Miami County so this sentence won't increase his time, but it does bring the case to an end a year after an internet crimes unit spotted an online ad of Brandt's offering his adopted children from Texas for sex.

Prosecutors say it's the kind of thing many think could never happen here.

"We hear about them and dismiss them as something that happens there or in some other community," Heck says.

The two men convicted of taking Brandt up on his offer have already been sentenced.

Patrick Rieder will serve 25 years to life and Jason Zwick 10 years to life.

Prosecutor's say it's up to all of us to keep something like this from happening again.

"Are you the one with courage to report child abuse?" Heck asks. "Because it does take courage to report child abuse. A lot of people want to ignore it or bury their heads in the sand."

But Heck says that can't happen because the futures of too many children are at stake.

"That child's relationships, its future and its life is irreparably damaged," Huffman says.