JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced today that his Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) unit successfully committed James Brandis to the Missouri Department of Mental Health after a Platte County jury found he met the criteria as a Sexually Violent Predator. The SVP Unit seeks the civil commitment of sexual predators who suffer from a mental abnormality making them more likely than not to commit predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined to a secure treatment facility.
“As Attorney General, my first priority will always be to protect all six million Missourians, especially from sexually violent predators who seek to harm our citizens,” said Attorney General Bailey. “Our Sexually Violent Predator Unit works diligently to ensure predators are not released back into society before they’ve received proper treatment. My office will remain dedicated to securing our streets and protecting Missouri’s most vulnerable.”
Prior to the Attorney General’s Office filing a petition for his commitment in 2019, Brandis was serving a sentence in the Missouri Department of Corrections for Statutory Sodomy in the first degree. In 2004, Brandis pled guilty to sodomizing a two-year-old girl. As he served his sentence for that offense, he repeatedly admitted that he continued to sexually fantasize about underage girls. During the commitment process, three different expert psychologists diagnosed Brandis with Pedophilic Disorder and opined he met the criteria as a Sexually Violent Predator.
A witness who knew Brandis prior to his offense testified that he often made inappropriate sexual comments about children, and that he watched them at bus stops. The evidence presented at trial not only revealed that Brandis continued to have sexual fantasies of young girls while in prison, but during his own testimony, he stated the only reason he was not fantasizing about children during the trial was because of his ADHD and tiredness. The evidence further revealed he continued to have difficulty controlling his behavior related to these sexual fantasies.
The jury decided Brandis was a Sexually Violent Predator under Missouri law, and will be committed to the Department of Mental Health for care control and treatment.
The case was litigated by assistant attorneys general George Lankford and Melissa Pierce, and investigated by Missouri’s sexually violent predator commitment unit.