INDEPENDENCE COUNTY, Ark. — A child reported abducted from South Carolina was found shaking in the bathroom of an Independence County home, where investigators allege Brandon Lee Britten raped the child and Sierra Dawn Britten tried to prevent a deputy from reaching the victim.
The allegations are detailed in a probable cause affidavit signed by Lt. Zach Rawlins of the Independence County Sheriff’s Office. Both defendants face three felony charges, with bond set at $1 million each, according to a separate release from the sheriff’s office.
The investigation began Sept. 9 when the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina contacted Independence County authorities about the reported abduction of a 12-year-old child. Investigators said the child had been taken from the area the previous afternoon in a black Chevrolet Malibu with an Arkansas license plate.
The vehicle was registered to Brandon Britten, according to the affidavit.
Deputies went to his home and found the car. After repeated attempts to get someone to answer the door, Brandon and Sierra Britten came outside and acknowledged the child was inside, Rawlins wrote.
Brandon Britten was taken into custody. Sierra Britten refused to identify herself and went back inside, according to the affidavit.
Rawlins alleged that Sierra Britten blocked his path as he tried to find the child and actively resisted before being physically removed from the home.
The deputy found the child in a back bathroom, shaking with the child’s face and hands against a wall. After Rawlins identified himself, the child thanked him for coming to get them, according to the affidavit.
The child was taken to the Child Safety Center for a forensic interview and medical examination.
During the interview, the child reported meeting the Brittens online and believing they were going to be in a relationship with a 15-year-old boy, with Sierra Britten presented as his roommate.
The child told investigators that Brandon Britten raped them after they arrived at the home. Rawlins wrote that evidence recovered during a search of the residence and a medical examination corroborated the child’s account.
During a Sept. 10 interview, Sierra Britten confirmed that she and Brandon Britten had been communicating with the child for about a month, according to the affidavit.
Sierra Britten initially claimed she believed the child was 18, then said she believed the child was 14. She described sexually explicit online communications involving Brandon Britten and the child, including images and video calls, investigators alleged.
According to Rawlins, Sierra Britten said they planned to persuade the child to be with Brandon Britten while portraying her as only a roommate. She also said she arranged Brandon Britten’s trip to South Carolina around her work schedule so he could use the car to pick up the child.
Sierra Britten confirmed that Brandon Britten took the child into a bedroom after returning home, according to the affidavit.
Brandon Britten is charged with one count each of rape, a Class Y felony; internet stalking of a child, a Class Y felony; and traveling for the purpose of an unlawful sex act with a minor, a Class B felony.
Sierra Britten is charged with one count each of being an accomplice to rape, a Class Y felony; being an accomplice to internet stalking of a child, a felony; and being an accomplice to traveling for the purpose of an unlawful sex act with a minor, a Class B felony, according to the sheriff’s office.
All suspects are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
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