Former student sentenced for sending nude photos, soliciting sex from minor
A former Central Michigan University student was sentenced to seven months in jail with five years of probation on Monday on charges of accosting and sending nude pictures to an underage girl.
Jackson native Brendan Baia was arrested in August after he tried to convince a 12-year-old girl to visit his dorm room in Kessler Hall.
On Aug. 30, Baia told police that he had known the girl for a year and started communicating with her in the beginning of August. Detectives were able to find 122 messages shared between the two on the social media app Snapchat, according to court documents.
In the conversations, the girl referred to Baia as “big daddy” and he called her “little girl.” In the conversation, the two exchanged nude photographs, Baia made sexually explicit statements and he attempted to meet up with the girl.
The girl’s mother discovered the messages and confronted Baia using her daughter’s Snapchat account. Baia told the mother that he thought the girl was 15 and believed she was “turning 16 soon.”
The girl’s mother accused Baia of lying and stated he knew the girl wasn’t 15. She also
He stated that he couldn't "explain how much I regret this” and “I don’t want to have anything to do with anyone young anymore.”
Baia pleaded guilty to accosting a child for immoral purposes and distributing sexually explicit material of children. The court dropped additional charges including three counts of using a computer to commit a crime and possession of child sexually abusive material.
Following his jail sentence, Baia will be placed on an electronic monitor, or tether, and will have to attend an inpatient recovery program.
Baia is diagnosed with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In letters addressed to the court, Baia’s family blamed his mental disorders for his actions and stated that he “is a good kid.”
His mother took responsibility for sending him to college “without proper support in place.” In her
“Because (of) his lack of street smarts, common sense, and a lack of reading body language, he will not survive or avoid the pitfalls or confrontations in a prison setting,” she wrote.
