A 42-year-old U.S. Air Force attorney who prosecuted child sex crimes was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury for allegedly trying to lure a 14-year-old girl online into an intimate relationship.
From April 12-16 attorney Lt. Col. Ross Andrew Brown, 42, of Kailua, thought he was chatting with a minor girl named “Izzy.” However, “Izzy” turned out to be a male agent working undercover for the U.S. Army.
Brown is a lawyer serving in the Air Force’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps.
He will appear for his
arraignment and plea on Dec. 20 at 9:30 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rom A. Trader. U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth J. Mansfield denied the government’s motion to detain Brown on April 21, and he was released on a $150,000 secured bond.
Brown cannot leave Oahu and must be at home “at all times except for employment, education, religious services, medical, substance abuse or mental health treatment, attorney visits, court appearances, court-
ordered obligations, or other activities approved” in advance by U.S. Pretrial Services, according to federal court documents.
His attorney, Myles S. Breiner, did not immediately reply to a Honolulu Star-
Advertiser request for
comment.
According to an affidavit authored by a special agent with the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigative Division who posed as a 14-year-old girl online named “Izzy,” Brown allegedly slid into his direct messages on the social network Whisper after he posted, “Tired of stupid HS drama!”
A Whisper user with username “forever sun,” who was allegedly “identified as United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Ross Andrew Brown,” responded to the post using the direct message feature, stating, “Is it dumb social stuff?”
The undercover agent posing as “Izzy” told Brown her girlfriend got pregnant in school and that other students were calling her a “slut.”
Brown allegedly “steered the conversation to the topic of sex between older men and young women or girls.”
Brown “criticized the sexual competence of younger men, and touted his own sexual prowess, explaining that he had engaged in sexual acts” with a 19-year-old after he turned 40.
Brown then allegedly engaged “Izzy” with graphic questions, requests and dialogue about their sexual history and performance, according to message texts printed in the affidavit filed April 17.
The affidavit from the Army CID special agent includes explicit quotes from his message exchanges with Brown. In the messages, Brown depicts a wide array of sexual activity and details his intentions.
He allegedly wrote to the undercover agent, “The youngest I’ve taught was 16. That was a lot of fun,” and “Some of the most fun sex I’ve had has actually been teaching inexperienced girls. I like sort of expanding things for them and helping them explore if it makes sense.”
During the Whisper communications Brown allegedly sent two photographs of himself. Federal investigators identified Brown based on his U.S. Department of Defense Common Access Card photograph.
Brown’s professional
biography indicates his
position as a “legal advisor for the 613th Air Operations Center, which executes command and control of United States Indo-Pacific Commands joint air and space operations.”
On April 16, Brown allegedly told the undercover agent he would “travel to her at Schofield Barracks.” During the chat, the agent posing as “Izzy” requested that Brown “bring a blanket and a beach mat, and pick up a specific type of gum.”
Surveillance teams saw Brown leave his house
April 17, carrying a blanket, and followed him to Schofield Barracks.
Once on the installation, Brown stopped at the Shoppette to purchase the requested gum before driving to the predesignated meet location. When he got there Brown was arrested.
If convicted, Brown faces between 10 years and life in federal prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and federal probation for life.
The charge is the result
of a joint investigation conducted by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Army Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig S. Nolan is prosecuting the case.
