Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said, “We presented evidence that this defendant regularly fantasized about raping young girls. He commented to friends that ‘he wouldn’t mind doing’ girls younger than 10 years old. Then he acted on those fantasies. This man is absolutely depraved and deserves every year he will spend behind bars.”

Brandis pleaded guilty to first degree statutory sodomy on December 13, 2004, the day his trial was scheduled to begin. Brandis admitted he sodomized his victim at her residence in southern Platte County on August 22, 2002. While the victim’s mother was asleep downstairs in the home, Brandis went upstairs, where the girl was watching a video alone. Brandis tickled the young girl, then removed her pants and sodomized her.

Zahnd said the girl tried to stop Brandis from sodomizing her by saying, “No, James.” Brandis exposed himself and told authorities he wanted to have intercourse with the girl.

“What is particularly disturbing is that this defendant told people he thought his two-year-old victim ‘seemed to enjoy’ his perverse conduct,” Zahnd said. “He smiled and licked his lips one time he recounted his crime.”

Prosecutors also presented evidence that Brandis’ often watched young girls get off the school bus from his room or front porch. When authorities confronted him with this behavior, Brandis said “he fantasized about little girls.” One witness said he often stared at girls younger than six. The witness said he did not stare at girls over age six because they were “too old.”

Another witness described Brandis as “very intelligent and very perverted.” She said Brandis would make inappropriate sexual comments about young girls and talk about them as if they were full grown women. She said Brandis would make comments such as “I wouldn’t mind doing her,” referring to having sex with girls under the age of 10.

Prosecutors also noted during the hearing that Brandis had been admitted to a psychiatric center three months before his crime. When he was admitted, he reported having “recurring thoughts of raping young girls.”

Zahnd said, “This man appears to have all the attributes of a pedophile, pure and simple. Anyone who regularly fantasizes about raping young girls and then acts on those fantasies is clearly a danger to society.”

Zahnd said he believed that after Brandis served his prison sentence, he would be an ideal candidate for consideration under the Sexually Violent Predator Act. Under that act, offenders with mental abnormalities making it more likely than not that they will engage in predatory acts of sexual violence can be committed to the Department of Mental Health for an indefinite period.

The case was investigated by the Platte County Sheriff’s Department and prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Joe Vanover.