DeWitt Sentenced to 8 – 20 in Sexual Assault Case

Brian Keith DeWitt, in state custody, appeared for sentencing in the Tenth Judicial District Court before Judge Thomas Stockard on Jan. 16, 2026. In November, DeWitt entered an Alford plea to the Category B felony of Attempt to Commit Sexual Assault on a Child Under the Age of 14. In an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but accepts the consequences associated with a guilty plea.

Deputy District Attorney Priscilla Baker asked the court to impose the maximum sentence allowable under the law, and for it to run consecutively to the Carson City case DeWitt is already serving in the Nevada Department of Corrections for similar offenses.

Baker began sentencing by stating that a father is a daughter’s “first sense of safety; he is often the person who makes the world seem less scary,” and that “to a girl, it means helping her grow up knowing that she is valued, capable, deeply loved, and that the world is something she can meet with confidence.”

Baker told the court that DeWitt, the stepfather, took that role and used it to victimize and harm. She said DeWitt had sexually abused his own daughters, then moved to the area, remarried, and began abusing his new stepdaughter, who indicated the abuse began when her mother left town to attend a funeral. “He took that opportunity to sexually victimize this young child,” Baker said.

According to Baker, the victim became fearful whenever her mother left her alone with DeWitt and would hide under clothing in her mother’s room. “But the defendant would still find her,” Baker said, also stating that DeWitt blamed his conduct on mental health issues, alcohol use, marijuana use, or a combination of those factors.

DeWitt claimed to remember “how happy she was to have another father figure, and that all their happiness then and now means the world to him. He wonders how to give that happiness back. He can't give it back, Your Honor,” Baker added. “Abusing a child like this does not create happiness; it creates intense and confusing emotions. It creates a sense of fear. No place is safe.”

Baker explained that the biological parents of the victim were involved in plea negotiations and agreed to the lesser count of attempted sexual assault to avoid trial and having their child relive this abuse again by testifying. The original charges included two counts of Sexual Assault on a Child Under the Age of 14 and Lewdness with a Child Under the Age of 14.

Baker asked Judge Stockard to “give this young victim her own separate justice, to impose a sentence in hopes that this victim will learn that she doesn’t have to feel shameful, she doesn’t have to feel fearful, she doesn’t have to feel guilty, she doesn't have to feel sadness. She is the victim.”

Churchill County Public Defender Jacob Sommer said his client does not dispute the seriousness of the offense. “The issue before the court is not whether punishment is warranted, for it clearly is. But the issue is what sentence best serves the interests of justice and public safety.” He asked the court for a punishment that remains proportionate in individual cases, which he said, “preserves the principle that punishment should be calibrated to both culpability and actual harm.”

According to Sommer, the record shows DeWitt’s risk can be managed and reduced through structured supervision. He noted DeWitt will be required to register as a sex offender and will be subject to lifetime supervision. “Mr. DeWitt has accepted responsibility for an offense with an aim to reduce the trauma to individuals who are affected,” Sommer said.

Sommer said research shows that “early and intensive treatment and supervision reduces the risk of re-offense,” and that such measures are more effective than incarceration alone. He asked the court to impose a sentence that combines accountability, close monitoring, and mandatory treatment.

DeWitt addressed the court, stating he did not remember these events, “Damaging your child forever is the biggest fear every parent has … When I look at the things in this report it makes me want to throw up … I don’t want any of this to reflect what she may or may not have gone through because I personally do not know … I don’t want this to be some kind of repetitive generational thing, so I hope that she can get counseling as well.”

It was clarified that an earlier report incorrectly stated DeWitt was serving two 20-year-to-life sentences. DeWitt is serving a combined 20-year term, with the earliest possible release date of 2044. Judge Stockard sentenced DeWitt to 8–20 years in prison, to run consecutive to his existing sentence, moving his earliest possible release date to 2052.